Thank Goodness You're Here Review: The Humor Slaps

Coal Supper has successfully delivered what the people have been clamoring for. Players everywhere can now play the Adventure Comedy Slap-former, Thank Goodness You're Here. Blending both the visual and tone styles of Adult Swim and Cartoon Network into afinal product makes me smile from ear to ear. As a player, I can only imagine that the goal of Coal Supper's title is to promote laughter, and boy, was I laughing often.

Adult Swim x Cartoon Network

Thank Goodness You're Here focuses on Yorkshire folklore and brings the heat regarding authentic dialects and animation while perusing both side-scrolling vignettes and top-down exploration. Coal Supper's comical escapade also features an original soundtrack, some IRL footage in the introduction, and menus that give a game, admittedly already with flair, a little more.

The game's art stands out. You'll know what to expect if you've seen a trailer or even some cartoons from Adult Swim or Cartoon Network. Not only is it quality, but it genuinely adds to the laughs found around every corner.

Laughs on Laughs

In terms of a story or narrative throughline, it's nonsense, but it's a chuckle ride of nonsense that one-ups itself every beat. You start as a salesman tasked with meeting with the Mayor of Barnsworth, but you are early, so you decide to visit with the locals, and your wacky adventure ensues. It may be a zany adventure for players, but something tells me this is a typical day in Barnsworth.

As you explore, you quickly become more of a handyman as the locals you encounter task you with odd job after odd job that only grows in oddity as you progress. The more odd jobs you complete, the more open areas you encounter, and the more laughs ensue.

Regarding the laughs, Coal Supper's hand-crafted town of Barnsworth feels deliberately laid out to hide laughs and jokes in every object that takes up screen real estate, both small to significant and subtle to obvious. One throw-away joke that doesn't even impact the gameplay is a character in a later area holding a sign. This sign reads, "BBA: Bring Back Asbestos."

Don't ask me why the asbestos joke broke me, but it did, and Thank Goodness You're Here is chock-full of jokes of the same silly nature.

Mundanely Hilarious

Thank Goodness You're Here features your short salesman turned handyman becoming progressively more involved in the town of Barnsworth by taking on puzzle after puzzle of odd jobs from the locals. These puzzles range from simple tasks turned complicated by small gameplay segments or figuring out how the game wants me to complete the absurd or not so absurd task.

From mowing a lawn to baking a pie, from befriending a mole to milking a cow, from gathering tools to sliding down a chimney, from becoming one with a slab of meat to drowning in a keg of beer, from shutting down a rat's shop to traveling to the astral plane-the tasks in the town of Barnsworth are as diverse as they are exciting.

It's all one massive puzzle. What can I do to move the game forward? It's completing fetch quest-like puzzle after fetch quest-like puzzle but laughing throughout, thanks to the wackiness and catered humor. This flow in the gameplay can leave a little to be desired as most players aren't truly doing much, but if the humor hits, you won't care. 

With just three buttons-Move, Slap, and Jump-at your disposal, the gameplay is refreshingly simple. Yet, your little salesman accomplishes so much with these three basic actions, making the game a breeze to play and enjoy.

BREAKDOWN

Game: Thank Goodness You’re Here

Developers: Coal Supper

Availability: Steam, Epic Game Store, PlayStation 4|5, Nintendo Switch

Reviewed on PlayStation 5

Game Length: 2-3 Hours

Accessibility Options: Languages and Subtitles

Pros:

+ Good Humor

+ Yorkshire Art and Dialects

+ Short and Sweet

Cons:

- Gameplay leaves a little to be desired

Final Thoughts

Simply put, Coal Supper's Adventure Comedy Slapformer is always funny and a delight. Thank Goodness You're Here feels like gaming's equivalent to comical cinema. Even though the game's gameplay can be too simple or lacking at times, the constant laughs and art mending both Adult Swim and Cartoon Network successfully carry the game's short 2-3 hour experience and ultimately do not disappoint.

If you’re looking to have a laugh from your video game experience and don’t want to play another 40-hour video game, Coal Supper’s latest title is for you.

Reviewed by Austin Ernst