Some video games come as a complete surprise. You go in expecting one thing and find something totally different. That’s definitely the case with Thank Goodness You’re Here! This cartoony looking game appears to be an elbow-to-the-ribcage, frolicking adventure designed for the kid in all of us.
But … that’s not quite right.
Rather, Thank Goodness You’re Here! is closer to a tongue-in-cheek comedy routine mixed with fetch-it quests. It can be quite funny. But the kids need not apply.
Things begin with a series of short ‘60s-ish TV commercials advertising wares in the little Northern England berg of Barnsworth. This is a place that sells everything from good-for-your-health cigarettes to the local delicacy of delicious tiny meat-pies. Slap down a cool 10-shilling note and you can buy pretty much everything you need.
Gamers are assigned the role of a minuscule little traveling salesman who has an appointment with the local mayor. But while waiting for that busy official to make time, he finds himself checking out the community. It’s a cluttered little Richard Scarry-like township where so many things are in need of fixing—and you’re just the guy to fix it.
For instance, a chubby fellow got stuck in a street drain while reaching for a shiny tuppence. But … to set him free, you’ll probably need a greasy lubricant such as a glob of butter that you can fetch from the local bakery. But … that shop is locked up tight since the baker’s dimwitted apprentice (whose mum just put him “back on the mercury”) can’t find the keys. But … the local locksmith won’t show up because he’s waiting at the pub for his get-your-blood-pumping morning pint, and the beer lines won’t flow.
But, but, but …
Each interconnected problem needs someone like you to set things right. Of course, since all your little character can do is jump, kick and slap things, it might take a little experimentation to find a pathway forward. You kick open a door here, slap a beer keg there, wedge your tiny frame into a clogged pipe over yonder and figure out how to nudge the world back into operation.
Along the way, the locals are ready with a quip, a wink and a funny How-d’ye-do that are all part and parcel of their average daily lives. (And therein lies the not-so-kid-friendly rub. See below.)
This is a single-player game that does not require an internet connection to play.
The visual images of this indie comedy adventure are colorful, bouncy and very appealing. And the ever-flowing jibes and jokes are chipper, funny and packed with satire, sarcasm and absurd situations. …
… However, much of the humor is also very adult-centric. The jests aren’t overtly crude, but they wink at sexual favors and extramarital activities among the townspeople; they openly embrace heavy drinking; and they guffaw over potty focused silliness of many types. Some of those humor bits can also feel rather dark at times.
For instance, one young fellow tells his story like this:
“When I was scarcely 3 years old, my father, mistaking me for a small cut of venison, hung me out in the smokehouse. It was nearly a day dangling over the embers before me sisters found me. And by then I was already stricken with the black lung. The doctor said I shan’t likely see my 12th summer. And I wept.”
In addition, the language in the game can occasionally surprise you with uses of f- and s-words and other crudities.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! is colorful, absurd and surprisingly filled with jokes and quips. But like many a comedy routine, you wouldn’t want the kids anywhere in the vicinity.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
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