Boss Rush Banter: Do You Like Humor in Video Games?

As the Blue Man Group once said, “you can make up for an extreme lack of talent by making people laugh”, which is weird, coming from the mute monochrome monks. But the point still stands true, especially when it comes to video games. Depending on the realm or genre, humor can add that little spice of joy to even the most mundane of gameplay experiences. It does have the possibility to interfere with the experience in a negative way as well, especially if the humor is poorly executed. The question must be asked, do you like humor in video games?

When dealing with comedy in video games, it’s the biggest melting pot of examples you can think of. You have classic adventure games like the Monkey Island series, with off-kilter puzzle solutions and witty one-liners. You have puzzle games like the Portal series and The Stanley Parable, with the highest levels of quality writing and character development. You have over-the-top parodies of the genre, like Saint’s Row IV and Bulletstorm. And then, you just have the avant-garde weird titles, like Goat Simulator and OctoDad. For those who want it, there are plenty of options for a funny bone tickle.

But every now and again, I’ll hear someone, either on a podcast or editorial piece, say that humor in games doesn’t really affect them, or even worse, they don’t think it’s funny. This is where you get hit with so many variables, it’s like filling out the “Iinterests” section of a dating site, it becomes a unique challenge to figure out. It boils down to humor being subjective, which is a really easy cover-all to the equation, but it’s impossible to unpack every person’s situation with comedy.

For me, It’s a complete “Yes”. Fill that download with as many jokes as you possibly can. Smart, dumb, clever, crude, give me all of it, but I understand that you have to start the tone with comedy. You can start in funny, and then dip into serious drama, but the opposite way doesn’t work. It’s not like you can play Halo and then introduce a character named Banana Joe halfway through the story. “Master Chief, thank goodness you’re here! We got a bunch of problems! The Covenant are peeling away at our defenses! I hope you don’t plantain on going anywhere! You have to Dole out some damage! You can find a Chiquita later!”

How about you? Does comedy in games affect you, one way or the other? Are you a Serious Sam? Or a…Serious…Bill? Head over to the Boss Rush Discord and let us know what your thoughts are.

The Boss Rush Podcast – Fridays at 7AM ET

The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, LeRon, Stephanie, Edward, and their friends from around the internet come together to talk their week in games, entertainment, and more while also bringing topics for conversation, answer listener and community questions, and cover major news and events happening in the video game industry. Watch The Boss Rush Podcast live on Wednesday Nights on Twitch at 8:30PM ET / 5:30PM PT or on Friday mornings at 7AM ET on YouTube and podcast services everywhere. Thanks for listening! You can also get this episode one week early on Patreon.