Let me tell you about one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. It’s called Thank Goodness You’re Here! A top-down 2D comedy adventure game developed by a two-person studio based in Yorkshire named Coal Supper. Because, of course, one of the funniest games of all time had to be made by a couple of twats from the U.K. It’s that Bri’ish ‘umour, innit?  

And British humour is the name of the game when it comes to this short, 3-hour masterpiece. Set in the bizarre fictional Northern English town of Barnsworth, you play as an odd-looking and very small salesman, tasked to meet the mayor of Barnsworth. When told that the mayor won’t be available for a few hours, you decide to go off and see all the happenings of Barnsworth and its residents—and my oh my, what a bizarre lot of characters these residents are.

From Bish, the local fishmonger and tobacconist, whom you must help by punching cigarettes out of the mouths of his dead fish (Why? Don’t ask me), to Kerry, who works at the local market that sells expired goods and is infested with rats, there’s no shortage of eccentric characters and township oddities littered throughout Barnsworth—and you have to punch your way, literally, through all of it to discover its secrets and hidden jokes. Because jokes are a dime a dozen (or a twopence a thruppence) in Thank Goodness You’re Here! 

Every location is littered with little jabs and quirks in the background. There isn’t a wasted opportunity in the art design or character interactions; everything, everywhere leads to a joke. It also has some wonderfully wacky surrealist humour, which manages to fit in with the rest of the game’s absurdity. The voice acting is tremendous, too, with every actor fully and brilliantly embodying their character, resulting in some truly lifelike, laugh-out-loud banter. Be forewarned, however, that if you’re not used to hearing the very specific accent of these Northern English folks, you’ll definitely need to turn on the subtitles. 

It’s rare for a game to make me tear up with laughter; I’m so glad I took a chance on Thank Goodness You’re Here! And I highly recommend you do as well.