Thank Goodness You’re Here is the most unhinged bit of content I’ve experienced in years, and it’s my Game of the Year for 2024.
Thank Goodness You’re Here is the second title from Yorkshire-based indie studio Coal Supper, a duo of Will Todd and James Carbutt, and was released on August 1 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, PC, and Mac. It’s billed as “an absurd comedy slapformer set in the bizarre Northern English town of Barnsworth.” You play a traveling young salesman sent on his first big gig, and while he’s waiting to meet the mayor, he takes time to explore the sights and gets roped into helping out the locals in exponentially weirder asks.
I didn’t really know any of this, however, before I downloaded it over the Thanksgiving holiday. All I knew was the big, beautiful curving title font, that it had gotten buzz in the game journalist sphere for being good, that no one I actually knew had played it, and that it was on sale on the Switch.
And really, that’s how I would want anyone (who’s over 18, it’s got an M rating) to play this colorful, funky, delightful game.
Thank Goodness You’re Here advocates, unabashedly and unapologetically, to love what we love. It’s an extremely peculiar game, and it’s proud of itself. We should all be proud of our weirds. It’s a love letter to every home town, to being nice to strangers, to little funny bits that become lasting memories.
A lot of the last year plus of my life hasn’t made a lot of sense. I often don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing next. But like the player-character, an unnamed young lad, I’m trying my best, and I try to be helpful as I go about.
Among this year’s best games, Thank Goodness You’re Here stands out. In comparison to the hyper-beautiful Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Metaphor: ReFantazio, Thank Goodness has a charmingly “ugly” and specific aesthetic. When taken to the complicated grandeur of the Elden Ring DLC, Thank Goodness’ simple but effective gameplay (the only actions are moving, jumping, and slapping) is clear.
The setting of Thank Goodness You’re Here is also unique in the gaming landscape. Barnsworth is not a real place, but it’s made by “two lads from Barnsley” and inspired by similar towns. In an interview last year with TheGamer, co-creator Will Todd said, “We weren’t trying to make the most British thing ever—we’re just from there.” There’s an excellent voice cast of regional voice actors, including the beloved Matt Berry, overlaying an “oddly moving” (their words, which are 100% correct) original soundtrack and excellent sound design. I’ve spent some time traveling in the northern UK and living in small towns and cities in America, and there are familiar archetypes that are handled with a tongue-in-cheek affection.
Thank Goodness You’re Here delights in delight. This year’s AAA games are Pretty Serious, and it was a nice change of pace to laugh out loud many times. It’s a platformer that doesn’t look like other platforms you’ve played, a Metroidvania-like title where you’ll crisscross along Barnsworth trying to remember who the hell you got roped into helping this time. Backtracking to areas that no longer have any gameplay needs still rewards exploratory players with funny comments by townspeople.
I played Thank Goodness You’re Here in two play sessions—it’s about a two-and-a-half to three-hour experience—and I loved every minute of it. The game is paced supremely well, never holding your hand but never leaving you high and dry, either. There’s many clever and artistic choices throughout the game that utilize sound, those simple actions, and perspective of the “camera” to surprise from level to level. Even though I’ve enjoyed other games that came out this year, the one that inspired me was Thank Goodness You’re Here.
Thank Goodness You’re Here advocates, unabashedly and unapologetically, to love what we love.
Playing Thank Goodness You’re Here was absurd. It was also joyful, annoying, emotional, frustrating, gross, and sweet. But this is what life is, isn’t it? Living is all the good and bad and weird, all at the same time. In an 1889 essay, Oscar Wilde wrote, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.”
Each day, we can choose to be kind and neighborly, choose to smile in the face of what life throws at us, and choose to unabashedly love what we love. Therein lies a truth of what I want to carry forward with me from this year—that no matter how tiring and confusing my life has been, I always tried my best to be a helpful person and stayed true to my values. And that I laughed along the way.
Thank goodness you’re here, Thank Goodness You’re Here.
