Comedy in video games has always had to strike a careful balance. Humor is so subjective that it can often come across as grating, overly sarcastic, or at worst, alienating. While some video games manage to be funny through careful writing and marketing to the right audiences, others choose a satirical approach to comedy.
Satire often involves the use of exaggeration and heightened reality to make a point, usually at the expense of a particular trend, ideology, or principle, though not exclusively. Satirical games often lean into this heightened reality, as it suits the bounds and limitations of video games perfectly.
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7 Broforce
Excessive Violence And A Bombardment Of Jokes Make Broforce A Tongue-In-Cheek Satire Of Hollywood Action
Broforce
This old-school action side-scroller lets its story take a backseat as players rampage through its variety of levels. However, Broforce still features a strong overarching theme of military satire, primarily centered around America.
Broforce puts players in control of a paramilitary organization whose only concern is solving problems with excessive, action-movie violence. The game's charming pixel-art graphics, tongue-in-cheek satire, and fast-paced action make it a satirical experience with a lighter heart.
6 Going Under
A Satirical Dungeon-Crawler About Failed Start-Up Companies
Going Under
This fast and fluid action rogue-lite features bright and colorful visuals and a unique combat system that centers around weapon durability. Players fight through a variety of dungeons, battling enemies and bosses alike with a constantly changing arsenal of makeshift weaponry.
Unlike most rogue-lite dungeon-crawlers, however, Going Under themes its dungeons around failed start-up companies. The very company that the player's character works at is packed with well-written characters that constantly spout satirical dialogue, and each dungeon features a satirical twist on different start-up companies.
5 Helldivers 2
A Third-Person Shooter With Military Satire Akin To Starship Troopers
Helldivers 2
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
This wildly popular third-person shooter features tightly-focused, chaotic action and co-operative gameplay that tasks players with working as a team. The game centers around objective-based missions in a variety of environments, tasking players with battling against wave after wave of bugs.
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Helldivers 2 is gameplay first, story second, but this doesn't stop it from being a heavily satirical game. What little story and theme Helldivers 2 has is used to show the player a satirical future not unlike Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers.
4 Fallout 2
A Focus On Comedic Satire And Constant Jokes Divide Fans
Fallout 2
The original Fallout game may have displayed its world through a satirical lens, but it lacked humor in such a way that, to some, it could come across more as a cynical statement. While this is by no means bad, it made Fallout 2 all the more polarizing for fans of the first game.
Fallout 2 took the formula of the original game and upped the ante on its elements of satirical humor. Fallout 2's abundance of pop culture references, ridiculous character names, and frequent jokes may not all be satirical, but many of them add to the satire of the overall experience.
3 The Outer Worlds
A Bleak, Corporate-Controlled Future Is The Outer Worlds' Playground For Satire
The Outer Worlds
From the minds behind the original Fallout, Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, The Outer Worlds is a first-person open-world RPG that plays similarly to games such as Fallout: New Vegas. The Outer Worlds, however, is rather different.
The Outer Worlds stands out with its satirical, corporate-controlled setting, presenting a world that almost feels like cyberpunk. The Outer Worlds takes its setting, in which everything is a product or a production, and everything is run by cash-hungry businesses, and combines it with the humorous tone of science fiction such as Firefly. This ultimately makes for a unique and interesting satirical world that's a joy to explore and interact with.
2 Ratchet And Clank
Corporate Satire Made Ratchet And Clank A Uniquely Mature Adventure
Ratchet & Clank
- Released
- November 6, 2002
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Platformer
The original Ratchet And Clank, and some of its earliest sequels, are particularly unique for their ability to blend a light-hearted atmosphere with a satirical story. The original Ratchet And Clank games are jam-packed with satirical jokes and stories centered around corporate villains.
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Ratchet And Clank's humor relied almost solely on this satirical approach, perhaps a little too much for some. The game focused its satire on consumer culture and the capitalist mindset, and while this satire may have flown over many heads of the game's core demographic, it allowed Ratchet And Clank to feel a little more mature than its contemporaries.
1 Sam And Max Hit The Road
Dark Humor And Heightened Reality Help Sam And Max satirize Americana
Sam & Max Hit The Road
This classic LucasArts adventure game is one of many fantastic old-school adventures developed by the legendary company. Everyone has their favorite Sam And Max game, but Hit The Road manages to be a perfect satire of Americana.
Like many Sam And Max titles, Hit The Road is jam-packed with dark humor. Both the game's tone and wacky setting make up a fertile land for the game's witty, satirical writing. Most of Hit The Road's satire focuses on popular culture, particularly in America at the time.
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