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A thoroughly odd, quirky, and delightfully silly quasi-adventure that delivers laughs while it lasts
While I do spend a lot of time playing games, and many of them trigger a variety of emotions, I’ll admit that one of the more rare things I find myself doing while playing is audibly laughing at something. Not simply appreciating something as humorous, letting out a quick snort of some kind, but involuntarily laughing hard at something. That’s part of the reason I tend to enjoy playing games that are more at the weird end of the spectrum, because typically humor tends to arise from the unexpected.Walking into Thank Goodness You’re Here I had no idea what it held in store, with no expectations, and overall I’d say that’s the best way to play it so I’ll try to be very general about the details. The gist of the experience is that you’ll explore a small town while really only able to jump, talk to people, and hit things. With that repertoire you’ll try to help people out the best you can, though most of the time in odd and thoroughly unexpected ways.In general, you’ll absolutely need to be patient, as there’s very much of a puzzle-solving element to things. The challenge is that with so few means of interaction at your disposal, how you’ll get through some of these issues will require some experimentation with unexpected outcomes, and that’s typically where the humor kicks in. Well, that and it being animated in a goofy style. Oh, and that the location, people, and humorous sensibilities are very thoroughly British. Then I’d also be remiss not to mention just how silly and absurd some of the sequences, and people you interact with, manage to be. Basically, if you’re a fan of the likes of Benny Hill, Monty Python, or other classic British humor it should absolutely tickle your funny bone.All that said, unfortunately the experience is also quite fleeting. I understand that what can feel almost like an interactive cartoon, with so many characters and great voice work, must have been quite an undertaking as it is. Still, it absolutely left me wanting more, and while that’s a good thing to some degree, it was also a little disappointing since I’d been having quite a bit of fun with it. If oddball humor doesn’t make you bust out laughing you won’t likely enjoy yourself, but if that’s your jam this is a pretty unique treat on the system.
Justin Nation, Score:Nindie Choice! [8.3]