For me it’s probably Jazzpunk, but I liked Disco Elysium too. I’ve been looking for something to scratch that “Jazzpunk surrealist comedy itch” for a while and not many games have come even close.
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The Stanley Parable was pretty funny
For about an hour.
If Stanley Parable only lasted one hour for you, then you’re playing it wrong. You’re supposed to restart the game several times to get every ending. No two playthroughs are the same.
I know. I was just saying it’s not funny. It gets old quickly.
Let’s agree to disagree.
Untitled Goose Game comes to mind as a great “slapstick” game.
honk
I love me some honkus!
I think it’d have to be Portal…mmm, the first one. I think learning about Glados the first time is a little better than the whole potato thing.
Portal 2 has some jokes that did not age well too.
Whoa, do you remember any specific examples? I haven’t played since it came out
There are a lot of fat jokes, and they aren’t punching up at all. Don’t remember specifics since it has been about a year since I last played.
But wasn’t that the evil AI very explicitly trying to psychologically hurt the protagonist and being really lame about it? I mean it’s the evil AI doing it and I remember the point of it being that fat jokes are lame.
I get that context, but see my other comment about that. https://beehaw.org/comment/1142644
Sorry don’t want to have to copy pasta on 2 threads covering the same topic. Probably should have not replied to both comments initially
This is a new take to me, anyway. What do you mean?
There are a lot of fat jokes, and they aren’t punching up at all.
I always sort of read those jokes as illustrative as GLaDOS being a bad person fielding weak material more than like, an earnest expression of the game writer’s values. Like, the game itself doesn’t present the remarks themselves as funny so much as GLaDOS being rude, snippy, and actively incorrect given that Chell is mega-fit.
Yeah, that always came across as “I’m trying to neg you but I ran out of my best insults like an hour ago so I’m throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.” Same with the adopted joke.
The cake is a lie.
I agree, especially considering Wheatley makes fat jokes the moment
spoiler
he takes over for GLaDOS.
I get that context, and I think that was for sure the intent, but they did not stick the landing. We already knew GLaDOS is evil. Casual fatphobia was not necessary. Plus the fact that some people won’t get that context or choose to ignore it and just think it is funny, as evidenced further down this thread.
Edit: The person saying they would replay it for the fat jokes was removed, so my last sentence makes less sense, but that was the reason I said that
There’s an extremely long list of creative works made to be satire that idiots don’t understand. The Colbert Report, Starship Troopers, hell there are people that think Homelander is the good guy in The Boys. I think it’s a little too restrictive if someone can’t make a point that certain jokes are lame out of fear of how a few idiots might misinterpret it (many times deliberately). There are people right now arguing that the Barbie movie is actually “anti-woke”.
Also consider how many people actually did get the message. They heard how lame the jokes sounded and realized how stupid fat jokes are. From what I recall, the game really makes an effort to deconstruct these jokes. There is no audience within the game laughing at the jokes, and the evil AI explicitly states that it’s making the jokes solely to to negatively affect the protagonists psychological well being to prevent her from achieving anything. And the jokes are directed at the player, so someone that might have made these jokes themselves hears someone else directing these jokes at them and can hear how lame they are. The evil AI comes across as lame, petty, and desperate. Someone who made fat jokes before playing that game might have had the realization “is that how I sound?”
I feel like the people that didn’t get the context likely made fat jokes before playing the game, and would be making fat jokes even if they never played the game. So I don’t think there was any negative impact. Someone that committed to being an idiot isn’t going change in either direction from any kind of media.
Like I said, I understand the context. I don’t need more of it.
Jokes like this and the other examples require either a very deft hand or an extreme level of satire. The jokes did not achieve either of those for me. The harm it causes by folks misinterpreting or ignoring context is not worth the people who get it. I have friends that would 100% understand the context and would still be made uncomfortable by the delivery. That to me is the best indicator to how well it aged.
Also, posting a wall of text full of ableism is also not a great way to convince me otherwise
I’ve always assumed it’s Gabe Newell getting revenge for all the fat jokes he’s endured.
For a game that’s a full comedy romp, West of Loathing consistently ruined me with laughter. The spittoon descriptions are probably the most derangedly funny writing ever put into the world. I’ve got to remember to play the sequel one of these days. Its also extremely mechanically satisfying, with several enticing roleplaying moments (as well as the occasional dramatic or scary moment that hits just as well as the comedy)
For a game that’s not explicitly only comedy but still hits strong marks, Yakuza 0 is a full meal. While most Yak games are fairly wacky when it comes to sidequesting (1 being perphaps the single exception, as the beginning of the series was quite dry), 0 feels like the one where they really hit their stride. There’s so many flat out ridiculous moments (you’ve most likely seen the chicken, and that’s just one of many) that you even forget this is also a heavily dramatic story and a full blown action beat’em up.
If you liked that it’s based on a browser game called Kingdom of Loathing, the gameplay is not as tight or refined but there’s plenty to do and it’s pretty enjoyable to play when you have some time to kill on a work pc lol.
Oooh, it’s been a while since I’ve been on there. May need to revive my pastamancer.
Disco Elysium. It’s much more than funny, but it can also be really funny. Cuno is really funny.
Came here to say this; just wanted to add that it was simultaneously the saddest game I’d ever played.
It’s both the saddest game I’ve ever played and perhaps the most uplifting one. It balances the knife’s edge between nihilism and hope so well. It can also be hysterically funny, yes. It’s truly unique in terms of writing.
It’s funnier than 95% of film or TV comedies. The writers are amazing.
I’d recommend Sam and Max Hit the Road. It’s older, and its sense of humor is a bit out there, but if you “get it” it’s great.
So many of those old adventure games were hilarious. The Monkey Island series, Day of the Tentacle, Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest. But I was also a kid back then (probably shouldn’t have been playing Leisure Suit Larry…). I wonder if they’d still hold up for me today.
I’ll add the Discworld games. And Simon the Sorcerer!
@JCPhoenix They definitely do! I replayed Sam & Max and DOTT on an emulator for my phone and played the remastered versions of Monkey Island. They are still awesome games.
I want to add “ToonStruck” to this list as well. One of the funniest, weirdest games I ever played.“You fight like a dairy farmer!” “How appropriate, you fight like a cow!”
Loved the deponia series, Rufus is just a great goofball.
“I’m like herpes. The cool version of herpes,”
Yes! Sam and Max is wonderful! There’s something so perfect in the way they react with complete nonchalance to all the weird stuff going on. And the soundtrack is great too.
Conker’s Bad Fur Day on N64 was definitely up there.
I was like 12 but it was funny as shit. I think now a lot of the humour might fall flat now the zeitgeist has moved on but that storming of the beach against the teddybears still cracks me up remembering it.
Having to piss out fires and flowers with tits will forever be in my memories lmfao!
The mighty poo boss was a masterpiece
I still to this day sing that song from time to time. Absolute fucking masterpiece indeed.
Monkey Island
I find the lack of Space Quest titles in this thread unsettling. For me, it’s Space Quest IV, but they are all absolute gems.
I prefer Leisure Suit Larry, but I’ll upzipper any Sierra game!
Yakuza 0 hands down. Some of the side stories had me in stitches.
You could say I’m a fisting artist.
Only game I ever lol’d at was Psychonauts.
Both of the Psychonauts games had such great writing, comedy is best when interwoven with actual substance and they nailed it
It’s really hard to top Jazzpunk…
I know right? it’s so great I reinstall it every few months just to experience it again. It never really gets old
Never heard of jazzpunk. Just added it to my steam wishlist, interested to play it.
One game series that is not known for being especially humorous actually can be: The Halo games. More specifically the enemy grunts. If you sneak up on them and listen to their dialogue, their mix of faux bravado, cowardice and delusion of grandeur can be really funny. Especially because Master Chief is “The Demon” to them. A near-mythical monster. Just choosing the right time to reveal your presence to the grunts can result in comedy gold.
No One Lives Forever though it’s ancient now. I remember sneaking around just to listen to the bad guys talking to each other.
I remember a long discussion about correlation vs causation re being a criminal and drinking beer
Fucking love the game, will have to play again.
Really wish GOG could could release NOLF1+2 – I’d love to have them in my library.
NOLF is stuck in license limbo as far as I know. You can get it here for free: http://nolfrevival.tk/
Wonderful, thank you
Stanley Parable and Trover Saves the Universe are both pretty funny. I’m sure there are a ton of really funny games, but for some reason, they’re not coming to mind.
yeah, High On Life has similar type of humor to Trover Saves the Universe (same developer, both are Justin’s Roiland games)
