Yorkshire meets Yharnam in this beautifully animated adventure
Developer Coal Supper
Publisher Panic
Format PC, PS5, Switch
Origin UK
Release 2024
When we previously showcased some of James Carbutt’s gorgeous artwork, in E390, the accompanying text pointed to a few of his cited influences: Reeves, Mortimer, Aardman. Reuniting with Carbutt and Will Todd, the other half of developer Coal Supper, this list grows substantially. Night In The Woods, particularly the way it’s unafraid to switch compositions. The Beano, via its more (or arguably less) mature relative, Viz. Adventure Time, and the accompanying wave of CalArts animation. Monty Python. Kes. “The pitch was Where’s Wally, but every character has something to say and do,” Carbutt says. “That was the image in my head, anyway.”
“The image in my head,” Todd interjects, “was Bloodborne. It was going to be a 3D action RPG. And you’ve slowly worn me down over time.” He jokingly asks Carbutt when the game’s combat system is going to be implemented. Strange as the comparison might seem, though, Todd is straight-faced – at least for a moment. “The perfect game for me is zero gameplay,” he says. “You just walk around and press the interact button and a strange, hooded figure says some bizarre non-sequitur and then laughs maniacally.”
That’s not a hugely inaccurate description of Thank Goodness You’re Here!, albeit with Yharnam swapped for the sunnier Barnsworth, a pastiche of the pair’s Yorkshire hometown. Its inhabitants are just as odd, in their own ways. The gardener who speaks in constant, accidental innuendos. The fishmonger whose produce all have cigarettes dangling from their pouting lips. Rog the veg-fl
