Laugh-Out-Loud Lunacy: Why ‘Thank God You’re Here’ is the Ultimate Guilty Pleasure Game

I’m glad you’re here Here it is. A mouthwatering, sauce-flavored game that has covered all the action-adventure, souls-like, and metroidvania genres I’ve been playing over the past few months.

Same company that published Panic Inc. Untitled Goose Game Even though the aesthetics and tone are very different, there is a certain flow to the world. Presented in a cartoon style that is somewhere between Cartoon Network and preschool educational cartoons, it is an aggressively British and charming Northern “slapstick” in which the nameless little guy comes to the city hall for an interview. After being tricked by the receptionist, he is forced to spend time in the fictional Northern English town of Barnsworth, which is 80% Barnsley and 20% deniable.

I’m glad you’re here This is almost the opposite of the anarchy that was introduced. Untitled Goose Game: You try to help. Despite having no connection to Barnsworth, our little hero is accidentally dragged into a series of plumbing jobs, fetch quests, and surreal dream sequences, all to varying degrees, without ever asking if he can help.

It’s a video game, but more like a loosely connected collection of scenarios and props. The controls are simple: you guide a little guy around town who can only punch (well, hit) and jump. There are a few low-risk platforming sections, but he’s not trying to be Mario. Most of the hilarity comes from Barnsworth himself. His inside jokes, posters, and signs run the gamut of comedy, from butt-slapping and visual gags to Yorkshire dialect jokes and even a few pokes at the game itself. Ludonarrative is a fucking sham!

There’s a joke about bins (most bins in Britain have wheels). Sunday night was the darkest night of the year for me, and I laughed at it.

It’s really fun. The writing and voice acting help enrich this surreal little town as you explore. Matt Berry (What we do in the shadows) as the headliner, and features a host of British comedy talent, including co-creator of the BBC’s Icklewick FM and The Delightful Sausage’s Chris Cantrill, who shares a similar kind of surreal “northern” humour. (Cantrill was nominated for Best Show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.)

The only downside is that it is tragically short, which comes from the rail gameplay style. But it is full of jokes and nods. I am on my second playthrough and am absorbing every detail like an excited old couple who never got involved. any Focused on their mission, but always watching from the sidelines; corny dad jokes that stay in the scene and let the characters say them (“I’m feeding two people… and I’m pregnant”); slightly pointed references to the economic decline of the North, and blatant exaggerations of Northern or working-class stereotypes, many of which will fly over the heads of American (and Southern British) players.

A good example is when you start the game and are asked a question in Yorkshire dialect. If you answer ‘wrong’, the game will play in standard English text, and if you answer correctly, all the menus will load in Northern slang. Don’t panic. Remember, you can switch between menus at any time.

It’s a short but rich experience. It’s worth playing for the madness of the final playthrough. It’s probably my favorite gaming moment of the year.

Thank God You Are Here is now available on Mac. PC, PS5 E trocar.