Often a harder landing to stick than more serious genres, comedic video games are not as commonplace as the likes of action and horror in the current gaming climate. While the likes of Rockstar and Naughty Dog have frequently used humor to their advantage, their top franchises would not be classed as out-and-out comedy.
There have been some games, however, from adaptations to parodies to fully original works, that have bucked the trend and committed 100% to aim for laughs. The results have varied, often resulting in the birth of cult classics years down the line. Comedy, perhaps more than any other genre, is deeply subjective and changes drastically with time.
Earlier stabs at comedic gaming have often suffered the dismissal of looking dated in more modern times. Others, meanwhile, simply fail to walk the tightrope between providing laughs while ensuring the gameplay and narrative stakes remain engaging. For all the struggles, however, some games manage to hit all the right notes, providing plentiful laughs in a neat gaming package. And where those games are concerned, less is certainly not more.
6 Deadpool Provided A Comics-Accurate Adaptation Of The Merc With A Mouth
In 2013, Wade Wilson became the rarest of things: a superhero who picked up a major video game adaptation before he got a movie. The result was a cleverly, wittily written release that unfortunately disappointed many on the gameplay front.
In the years since, Ryan Reynolds has completed the character's journey into the mainstream, with two blockbuster Deadpool films already in the bag and a long-awaited third one on the way. Needless to say, fan interest in Deadpool's metafictional adventures will likely be higher than ever when Deadpool 3 drops next year. With some heavy-duty updating on the action and mechanics fronts, a new game of Wade Wilson's antics could be a smash hit.
The original game's laugh-out-loud plot surrounds the titular hero waging war on the High Moon Studios developers before teaming up with Cable and the X-Men to take on Mr. Sinister. Unsurprisingly, Deadpool's attempts at saving the day frequently lead him on comedic side missions. A decade on, it's high time this fan-favorite Marvel character got another day in the gaming sun
5 Jazzpunk Gives Players One Of The Whackiest Gaming Experiences Of The Past Decade
This underrated Steam gem is set in a bizarre alternative timeline where Imperial Japan successfully conquered the United States. The result is an absurdist piece of adventure gaming charting everything from sentient cocktails to crazy gadgets to the funny spoofing of a variety of genres.
An imaginative, unconventional effort, Jazzpunk keeps the pace chugging along with a good deal of deadpan delivery and surreal world-building. Much like the Fallout series, Jazzpunk adopts a retro-futuristic sci-fi effort, managing to be both old-school and high-tech all at once. Polyblank, the player character, is a silent lead hero who is delivered to a secretive spy group in a big, human-shaped envelope.
The general silliness of this opener is a perfect setup for the humorous tone and vibe players get to enjoy throughout this exploration-heavy farce. With each passing mission, the consistency of the rapid-fire humor remains on point, never slowing down or losing the wittiness of earlier points in the game. Overall, this minor cult classic is a hilariously inventive piece of gaming that, with a bigger budget, could truly become something special with a sequel release.
4 South Park: The Fractured But Whole Improves Upon Its Predecessor
The ridiculous title ought to give players an idea of what they're in for before they even start playing. The hilarious follow-up to The Stick of Truth sees The New Kid get swept up in a bizarre rivalry between two factions looking to create the next great superhero franchise.
Praised for being perfectly in line with the series as an effective adaptation, The Fractured but Whole exhibits plenty of the acerbic, often crass humor from the likes of Cartman that the show has become renowned for. From strip club battles to the corrupt police to the mountainous portions of toilet humor, the game unsurprisingly drew love and hate in equal measure, with fans appreciating the commitment to the series' signature style while others dismissed it as taking its provocative humor too far.
A moderate sales success, it comes as a surprise that a third South Park game hasn't materialized in the six years since The Fractured but Whole's release. While teasers and rumors have popped up here and there over the last year, it's unclear if a game is genuinely on the way or if it will follow from the story of the previous two.
3 The Simpsons: Hit & Run Provided The Pinnacle In Simpsons Gaming
The most action-packed of all Simpsons games, Hit & Run was initially expected to serve as a sequel of sorts to 2001's The Simpsons: Road Rage. Instead, Hit & Run took on a wild life of its own, becoming a hectic blend of science fiction, satire, and parody of Grand Theft Auto, particularly GTA 3.
The result was a blockbuster game that enjoyed almost universal acclaim from critics and fans alike upon release back in 2003. With everything from robotic wasps to a sinister mind-controlling new soda in the core plot, the increasingly wild game builds to a hilariously silly climax involving Homer defeating Kang and Kodos with nuclear waste, ensuring its maddened, comedic thrills peak at the right time towards the end of the game.
While rumors have swirled of a remake in more recent times, a direct sequel to Hit & Run never materialized, with EA scrapping early ideas for one after acquiring the rights. Given the game's considerable success and legacy, a follow-up would no doubt still be welcomed by Simpsons fans everywhere.
2 Bulletstorm Roasted The Shoot 'Em Up Games Of Its Day
This polarizing 2011 release left critics scratching their heads at the blend of blood-soaked action with dirty jokes and satire. Often serving as a parody of sorts of beloved action hits such as Just Cause, Bulletstorm attempts to have its cake and eat it too in regards to providing players with both laughs and thrills.
On the surface level, Bulletstorm could've been dismissed as a fairly standard, even run-of-the-mill shoot 'em up. The unconventional decision to infuse it with a mega-dose of comedy has allowed its acclaim and esteem to grow in the years since its release. Boasting colorful characters and rapid-fire, witty dialogue, the whole game bristles with an energy it simply would not have had if it maintained a more serious tone and approach.
Protagonist Grayson Hunt, a troubled assassin with a sizable drinking problem, makes for a charismatic, engaging anti-hero whose mission of revenge keeps the game chugging along at a fast pace. Considering the cliffhanger ending, it's clear the developers were aiming for a sequel. In an era where genuinely hilarious games are few and far between, and with a Bulletstorm VR now on the scene, now could be the time for a follow-up.
1 Conker's Bad Fur Day Remains The Peak Of Crude Humor In Gaming More Than 20 Years Later
A hilarious subversion of more kid-friendly games, Conker's Bad Fur Day follows the increasingly distasteful adventures of an alcoholic red squirrel. Created by GoldenEye 007 masterminds Rare, the cult favorite game was ultimately a victim of poor timing, struggling on the sales front due to being released near the very end of the Nintendo 64's lifespan.
Packed to the brim with witty dialogue, crude humor, and unexpectedly violent action, the game follows Conker as he gets caught up in a variety of ludicrous antics on his journey back home to his girlfriend. From Weird Al Yankovic's toilet humor-laden cameo as The Great Mighty Poo to Conker's life being saved due to a metafictional developmental issue in the game, the whole thing is a goldmine of offbeat comedy and priceless cutscenes.
While an Xbox remastering was released four years later, a sequel has never materialized. While the game's sales were disappointing, its general quality, critical acclaim, and sizable cult following should be enough to warrant the long-awaited return of the boozy squirrel eventually.