If you enjoy either the absurdism of Monty Python or the chaotic gameplay of Untitled Goose Game, developer Coal Supper has an upcoming title for you. In Thank Goodness You’re Here, take on increasingly odd jobs in an increasingly odd British town. Published by Panic, the game comes out this summer. However, this past month at NYC’s Tribeca Games Gallery we went hands-on with the silly slapformer. So we have a bit of a sneak peak to share.
Right off the bat, Thank Goodness You’re Here sets a wild and wacky tone. Its cartoon visuals evoke whimsical animated shows such as Regular Show or Adventure Time. The build I played starts out with various fake ads. One of the funniest ones advertises something called “peans,” as in, “not quite peas not quite beans.”
These ads introduce you to Barnsworth, a Northern English town. As a traveling salesman, your boss tasks you with heading there to meet with the mayor. Just show up in town, head to their office, and Bob’s your uncle, right? Well, regardless of your uncle’s name, it’s not quite that simple.
Upon arriving in Barnsworth, the gameplay proves similar to Untitled Goose Game. You start off in a town square where a man has his arm stuck in a grate. You need to find butter to butter him up—literally—and help him get his arm out. Only then will you have the means to move on in your adventure.
In chasing this goal, you take part in all kinds of bizarre and absurd activities like mowing a lawn filled with talking flowers and becoming really tiny and going through the tubes of beer on tap. Why do you have the power to shrink to the size of a mite? Best not to bother with such questions. The game says you can, so you can.
When you finally unlock the butter store and lube the man’s arm up, it finally comes loose… along with the grate.
From there I could move on to other areas with new problems to solve, much like Untitled Goose Game. However, distinct from the goose title, Thank Goodness You’re Here facilitates this with the use of some platforming sections. Otherwise, most activities involve punching things or jumping on things. But every now and then there’s an exception, such as the aforementioned lawn mowing.
I found the puzzles tricky, but fortunately a six-year-old child present was more than happy to tell me what I had to do whenever I got stuck. I believe she had already played the demo, but I am also bad at puzzles. For what it’s worth, I did help her with the platforming, so I am better than a small child at some aspects of gaming.
But anyone of any age can appreciate the humor. Of course, Thank Goodness You’re Here has a lot of British sensibilities, such as someone discovering a supposed “two pence” is actually a “three pence” and praising their good fortune despite the lengths they had to go to get it. And the voice cast includes Matt Berry, so that’s always a good time.
You can pop over to Barnsworth this summer on August 1st. Thank Goodness You’re Here arrives on PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Mac, and PC.
