Games can be funnyas well, and the humor in them often comes unexpectedly during serious gameplay moments, when something that is so absurd happens that the player just can’t help but laugh out loud. But it can also come in the form of well-written and well-delivered dialogues.
The best games not only focus on funny dialogues or delivering witty remarks, but also on the gameplay, making them an all-in-one package that players will laugh at and fall in love with by the end.
When the Streets Get Weird
Set in the 1980s and set as a prequel to other Yakuza games, Yakuza 0 landed with a flair in 2015in Japanand in 2017 for the rest of the world. It follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu and Gojo Majima as they navigate their crime and betrayal-ridden lives and deal with the power struggles that come from being a Yakuza.
But that’s justthe storyline, because nearly everything else in the game will make you atleast chuckle. The side-missions borderline sheer absurdity and the fights will have the player using everyday objects, like a bicycle or a signage, as a weapon in the most brutal and hilarious way. The games ends up being a rollercoaster of emotions, with much of it being humor, provided that you did the substories, which is a must for a Yakuza game.
8Borderlands 2
Loot, Shoot, Laugh, Repeat
Borderlands 2
Set on a chaotic planet called Pandora, where everyone is a cynic and only looking out for themselves, or trying to open the vault and loot its contents, also for themselves, Borderlands 2 has every opportunity to introduce unforgettable characters that carry themselves on their personality alone. And it makes use of that opportunity the best it can.
Featuring legedary characters like Handsome Jack, who is entirely driven by his snarky dialogues and running gags, make this looter-shooter no less funny than a comedy movie. The game is even known for having some of the funniestside questsin any video game, where the player has to shoot an enemy on his head, as per the request of that same enemy. Or jump of a cliff at the request of Handsome Jack.
7Saints Row 4
Superpowers and Super Absurdity
Saints Row 4
The Saints Row games have always stayed in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto, but where the latter leaned in more towards realism, Saints Row took the crown in being the funniest sandbox open-world game that is filled with absurdities of all kinds.
It all begins with a completely non-sensical storyline: The player, who is also the leader of their gang, is now the president of the United States, defending the Earth from an alien invasion. And failing to do so, they are put in a simulation where everything from flight, telekinesis and super-speed are possible. With this plotline, the game dives into political satire, pop-culture refrences and over-the-top storytelling, all of which are sprinkled into mission scenarios that are completely bonkers and out of the world.
6Psychonauts
Enter the Mind, Exit with Laughs
Psychonauts
Released way back in 2005 on PC, Xbox and PS2, Psychonauts suddenly gained a lot of attention in recent years due to it getting a sequel in 2021, after nearly 16 years. But even with the sequel out there, the humor of the first game is unmatched.
Psychonauts is a 3D platformer that follows the story of Razputin “Raz” Aquato, a young psychic who sneaks into a psychic summer camp. The entire premise revolves around him entering the minds of eccentric individuals to solve their psychological problems from within. The humor comes not only from the witty dialogue which is filled with puns, but also from the surreal environments of each of the character’s psyche.
5Goat Simulator
The Art of Doing Absolutely Nothing Right
Goat Simulator
As the name of the game implies, players take control of an unassuming goat in a sandbox world and do anything and everything that comes to their mind. There is no real story and no missions structure to follow; the game is a sandbox in its truest sense.
Players can headbutt people, lick objects to get them to stick to the goat’s tongue and drag them around and perform the most most nonsensical stuff with the only restriction being the player’s own imagination. The inclusion of ragdoll physics makes everything at least 10x funnier.
4Untitled Goose Game
A Horrible Goose’s Day Out
Untitled Goose Game
Similar to Goat Simulator, in Untitled Goose Game, players take control of a, surprise-surprise, goose. But this isn’t just any goose, this is arguably the most mischievous goose that ever existed. There is absolutely no dialogue in the game, and the entirety of the game’s humor is carried by the gameplay.
While there is no story, this is an entirely-ignorable checklist of pranks that players can pull of using their goose, and this is where the absurdity of the actions creates comedic moments. From stealth-like elements where the goose is sneaking around with stolen items to its exaggerated honking that exists just to annoy people, the game is a masterclass in minimalist humor without dialogue.
3The Stanley Parable
Choice, or the Illusion of Choice
The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable had its humble beginnings as a Half-Life 2 mod, released in 2011, which later got a standalone release in 2013 and an Ultra Deluxe edition in 2022. As opposed to Goat Simulator and Untitled Goose Game, Stanley Parable has very little gameplay, and mostly just walking around.
The real girth of the game’s humor comes from the narrator, but not explicitly. As soon as the game starts, the Narrator guides players towards a direction he wants the players to take, but they can chose whether or not to listen to him. When they don’t listen to him, that’s when things get interesting, leading to a wide variety of branching narratives. The humor is largely meta, breaking the fourth wall and satirizing game design itself.
Science, Sarcasm and Space
Arguably one of the best games of all time, Portal 2 also holds the crown as being one of the funniest. Its a first-person puzzle-platformer involving portals to solve spatial challenges in a lab facility. While the puzzles are fun on their own, the real humor comes from the Glados and Wheatley, both of which are AI personalities that play the role of an antagonist in the game.
Their humor is almost entirely darkly sarcastic with passive-aggressive insults by Glados, whereas Wheatly leans more towards bumbling incompetence and awkward comedy. Everything from the game’s writing, the gameplay and the dialogue delivery is top-notch, making Portal and Portal 2 a must-play for every game.
1South Park: The Stick of Truth
Role-Playing Ridiculousness
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Released in 2013 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, and developed by none other than the legendary Obsidian Entertainment, South Park: The Stick of Truth is an RPG based on the South Park TV series that uses the shows signature style and crude humor. The game’s story follows the “New Kid” joining Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny in a fantasy role-play war.
Gameplay-wise, The Stick of Truth might not be for everyone since it uses the classic turn-based fomula, but the players who can bear the slower-paced gameplay get rewarded with some of the best-written and funniest dialogues in any game. The humor mirrors the show, with satirical takes on fantasy tropes, pop culture and politics. And thanks to Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s involvement, the dialogue delivery is completely authentic to the series, making The Stick of Truth a beloved game for fans of the show and newcomers alike.
