Thank Goodness You're Here review: Positively bonkers

I don’t know what I expected when I came into Thank Goodness You’re Here, but it may be one of the more jovial romps I’ve had in gaming this year. Developer Coal Supper assembled a charming adventure in the city of Barnsworth that it describes as an ‘absurd comedy slapformer.’ That’s quite apt and it ends up being a very silly time that, despite some occasional oversimplicity and crassness, brings more giggles than not for all of its zany antics.

To Barnsworth!

In Thank Goodness You’re Here, you play the role of a traveling salesman for a large company looking to extend its reach to the city of Barnsworth. The city in question has issues. Everyone seems to be out of whack and a little less than competent at solving their problems. There are pies that are too big, pies that are too small, pies that aren’t made at all, locksmiths sleeping on the job, a knob that can’t get his arm out of a hole, and a mechanic that can’t keep track of his tools, just to name a few.

This would have nothing to do with your diminutive, little character, save for the fact that the mayor of Barnsworth is busy and won’t be free for hours… so you set about sorting folks and their issues out the only way you know how: by wandering around and slapping the begeezus out of everything you see. Turns out that’s a very good way to solve most everything in Barnsworth, besides jumping and pushing objects here and there.

The results are often amusing, too. Slap some shaking bags of trash and you just might free some singing rats. Slap some kegs and that should get the beer foamy and effervescent for the pints being served in a local bar. Jump on some sludge clogging a gutter and you’ll push it through (as well as falling in yourself). This world is chockful of interactions that run from mildly silly to downright ridiculous. It can get a little crass, or even downright unsettlingly weird, but it never strays far from comedic absurdity.

A slap a day keeps the problems away

One of the best parts of Thank Goodness You’re Here are the characters that fill its world. There are a few of them that will have persistent problems that advance as the day goes on (reminder that you’re just killing time to see the mayor of Barnsworth). Finishing up one major character problem often leads to new areas of Barnsworth where you’ll run into new townsfolk issues, but it’s fun to see some of these characters make repeat appearances with either new problems or simply going about their day.

It helps that it’s all voice-acted and has a charming soundtrack to accompany the whole thing. Everyone delivers their lines with silly abruptness as they seemingly try to just carry on regardless of how silly things are. I particularly liked the oafish fellow that got his arm stuck down a sewer grate trying to reach a coin, or the gardener that is terrible at handling any of his own landscaping or gardening. All of it is moved along by melodic and pleasant music that keeps that air of tranquility amid the obvious silliness.

The solutions to helping these people are usually simplistic too, though they can occasionally get esoteric. The answer to a citizen’s problems is never too far away, though the game also does a good job of intuitively guiding you in the direction you need to go. The only issue I had in this regard is that sometimes Thank Goodness You’re Here isn’t all that obvious about when you can act or what you should do. There’s also very little in the way of fail states or hint systems, so I was just kind of left there staring at the screen at some moments until I realized I could act. Thankfully, I also think Thank Goodness You're Here is pretty quick to get you to adapt to its antics, so this became less of a problem and more part of the joke as I played.

O, Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Thank Goodness You’re Here is something altogether different from most of what I’ve played in 2024, and refreshingly so. It’s most certainly a game with some puzzle-minded antics, but it feels more like a lengthy comedy special, and the slapstick absurdity of it stays refreshing with plenty of surprises and ridiculousness throughout the adventure. Even the parts I didn’t initially enjoy ultimately felt like they needed to be there because it felt like part of the joke. Even so, be prepared for some very esoteric solutions and a complete lack of guidance as you learn to adapt to the wacky way this game wants you to think.

This review is based on an early digital PC version of the game supplied by the publisher. Thank Goodness You’re Here comes out on August 1, 2024, on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.