Yorkshire isn’t just a place–Yorkshire is a state of mind. Nothing demonstrates this quite like Thank Goodness You’re Here!, but then again, Thank Goodness You’re Here! is like nothing else you’ve ever played–this two-hour fever dream will leave you speechless, and with a huge, stupid smile on your face.
When its teaser trailer debuted at last year’s Gamescom–with Matt Berry’s unfailing voice talents front and center–Thank Goodness You’re Here! immediately made its case for a place on 2024’s best indie games list. However, this is less of a game and more of an absurdist interactive sketch show, cand one that may confound even die-hard fans of alternative British comedy–even the surreal likes of Vic and Bob, The League of Gentlemen, and anything else that Berry has found himself a part of.
I didn’t think I’d be so dumbfounded by it, given I’m its core target market: I was born and raised in a small, weird, Northern town; I grew up on a diet of alternative U.K. TV shows; I’ve lived in Yorkshire for nearly 20 years. This still didn’t prepare me for the constant stream of bizarre nonsense from Yorkshire developers Coal Supper, who’ll amuse and bemuse you in equal measure. It’s created one of the most unique and memorable experiences of the year–as well as one of the funniest games ever made.
Things kick off with a short introduction featuring Pathé-style reels of 1960s Yorkshire mining towns, transitioning into a thoroughly provincial take on Rick and Morty’s Interdimensional Cable schtick: cartoon adverts for tiny pies, massive pies, and “Peans” (not quite peas, not quite beans).
Before you know it, you’re in the tiny shoes of a minuscule, unnamed traveling salesman, dispatched to Barnsworth to make a deal with its mayor. He’s busy, you’re impatient, so you slap the door open to see what’s going on outside.
Man about town
Barnsworth is an extreme caricature of a Yorkshire town, seamlessly combining 1970s stereotypes with modern-day caricatures. Here, everything costs 10 bob, cigarettes are fresh and delicious, cheap cider is on every street corner, mice are everywhere (and remarkably intelligent), and every character is as colorful as the game’s naïve art style.
Here, for the first of many times, someone shouts “thank goodness you’re here!” A pseud, whose arm is trapped in a drain trying to retrieve a shiny tuppence, needs something to free himself; as luck would have it, a butter-loving bakery is nearby. Sadly, it’s locked–the dimwitted apprentice, whose mum has put him “back on the mercury,” can’t find the keys. The locksmith’s on his way, but he’s having his daily breakfast pint at The Thumbitt Inn (fnar fnar). The problem is, the beer lines aren’t working.
These first couple of minutes give you a delightfully transparent set-up. While Thank Goodness You’re Here!’s trailer mentions the similarly farcical Untitled Goose Game, it doesn’t offer the same level of freedom or trial-and-error tasks–it’s a much more linear, fetch-quest-led experience. However, it’s no less enjoyable; you can freely speak with locals, interact with objects, and enjoy the joke-stuffed surroundings through endless graffiti and signs (“Lost cat. Also lost: one child”).
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is very hands-off with its guidance, especially as your only inputs are movement, jumping, and slapping–you won’t get a single prompt, so you occasionally don’t realize you’re part of the many cutscenes that spring up. Still, it delivers a feeling of freedom while keeping you on the straight and narrow, delicately railroading your direction of travel and advancing the narrative with regular, small victories. If you do discover a rare dead end, it’s a short detour.
Ham horror, normal milk, and big head blues
Due to its sketch comedy format based around tiny, silly jobs, there’s no real storyline; as a result, inconsequential and inspired snippets, rather than extended sections, live rent-free in your head for days. You gradually destroy a man’s resolve by entering his living room the wrong way; endure existential horror by getting trapped inside a slab of ham; learn the protein preferences of an earthworm; witness street bin politics; you even fix a deep-fat fryer to feed a bag of chips to a cow.
These quick moments gather pace and before you know it, you’re at the end of the tale–a conclusion that comes out of nowhere, but it’s a satisfying crescendo that assaults your senses. You’ll need five minutes to process what you’ve just been through, but once you regain your senses, you’ll come away feeling satisfied–just embrace the weird and you’ll be just fine.
Still, it’s not perfect. On the Nintendo Switch (version tested), its performance is a little inconsistent, as many sections have skippy framerates, and controls aren’t always responsive–but given the ride it takes you on, these are minor complaints, especially when there’s so much to distract you from them.
All-star casting
While its writing is superb, it’s important to underline just how excellent its voice cast is. It runs much deeper than headliner Berry, with each actor getting the most out of Barnsworth’s odd bunch; the colorful, feature-packed art style ensures every vocal performance is given the visual depth needed to get absolutely everything out of each person you meet along your weird and wonderful journey.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a must-play experience for anyone who wants a laugh, even if cultural differences make for wildly different experiences. Coal Supper has not only done justice to its home county, but has helped push the needle for irreverent British humor. You don’t have to wait long to can get it on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, or Switch on on August 1–which is, very fittingly, Yorkshire Day.
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