Thank Goodness You’re Here’s Greatest Strength is Comedy

Thank Goodness You’re Here is a game I desperately hope people don’t ignore. In its short, three-hour runtime, this simple, slapstick adventure became one of my favorite games of the year. Now it didn’t do that with revolutionary game mechanics or new ideas. Instead, it seemingly mastered something very few games have before: making me laugh, and making me laugh a lot.

Thank Goodness You’re Here is the first game from Northern England-based developer Coal Supper, published by Seatle-based Panic, the folks who helped release indie-darlings like Untitled Goose Game and 2016’s Firewatch. In Thank Goodness You’re Here, players fill the shoes of an unnamed, yellow salesman who’s as quiet as he is helpful. Sent to the small fictional city of Barnsworth, to sell...something, the tiny salesman wanders around assisting the town’s charming small folk in elaborate ways. One minute, he’s replenishing the town bakery’s meat reserves, and the next he’s helping the local (and very paranoid) repairman get his tools back.

It’s a fairly simple game. There are essentially three ways to interact with Thank Goodness You’re Here’s gorgeous, 2D-animated world: walking, jumping, and slapping. And yet, this limited move set never gets old. And that’s because levels are teaming with absurd bits, punchlines, setups, and payoffs.

Every major character you interact with comes to life through detailed animation that cartoon lovers will marvel at. Thank Goodness You’re Here wouldn’t feel out of place airing on Cartoon Network. The game’s cast, which includes the indelible Matt Berry (What We Do In The Shadows), all deliver fantastic performances. Their over-the-top, deeply optimistic portrayal of the British townsfolk is as quotable and memorable as a video game can be.

Thank Goodness You’re Here’s might be as deep as a pond in the gameplay department, but comedy provides the variety and depth it lacks. I gleefully slapped every object, animal, and person in the game world I could collecting the game's most valuable currency: jokes.

Will Todd and James Carbutt, Coal Supper’s two co-founders say they pulled from their own humble beginnings to flesh out the game’s weird and colorful world.

“The writing process is basically me and James in a room trying to make each other laugh,” Todd tells Inverse. “As we started to flesh out who the town’s inhabitants were, me and James were just doing their lines and jokes to each other and that obviously comes out in our dialect. That pulled the town more and more towards our hometown of Barnsley in the North of England, until eventually, we decided that’s just what it was going to be.”

There’s also an aspect of Where’s Waldo to the game’s levels. I found myself looking out for my favorite tertiary characters. Side characters are just as well-animated and voiced, maximizing their minimal screen time. Some of these one-off citizens, like the park-goer who loves hamburgers or the two awkward teenage lovebirds, managed to get more laughs out of me than the entirety of Deadpool And Wolverine.

The team was also inspired by British comedies of the 1990s and 2000s.

“There’s definitely a bit of Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow,” Todd said. “That turning point early in production when the town went from being an ethereal anywhere to being distinctly British was driven in large part by us binging all of Vic Reeves Big Night Out during pre-production.”

While these are likely deep cuts for most American audiences, I thought the game’s humor also shared similarities to timeless cartoons like Spongebob’s early seasons, Teachers Pet, Regular Show, and The Amazing World Of Gumball. There’s also a sprinkling of surrealism found in popular works like Adventure Time and author Louis Sacher’s underrated Wayside series.

My only criticism is the game’s length. Not because the short runtime doesn’t perfectly suit what’s on offer here. But because I wanted to remain in the city of Barnsworth just a little longer. It’s unclear if there are plans for a sequel or even DLC for Thank Goodness You’re Here, but best believe I’ll be there on day one for whatever Coal Supper does next.

Comedy is an immensely difficult thing to pull off in video games. Plenty of games have fantastic, memorable bits or satire that’ll make the player laugh. But few games are designed as comedies, and even fewer manage to hit their mark without becoming a bit grating. Thank Goodness You’re Here joins the pantheon of rare titles that accomplish this goal with flawless results.

Not since The Stanley Parable or Portal 2 has a game made me laugh out loud so consistently with its genuinely clever writing. Its delightful mix of Saturday morning cartoon vibes and Adult Swim makes it such a unique entity among the distinguished class it joins. If you have an appetite for animated comedy, even in the slightest, Thank Goodness You’re Here’s potent few hours of goofs and gaffs are guaranteed to put a smile on your face, and is easily one of 2024’s best video games.