Video Games Have Always Been Funny

thegamer.com:

The recent previews for High On Life have gotten some pretty divisive reactions online. Some love the quips and the novelty of having weapons that talk to the player. Meanwhile, other people find the game unbelievably annoying with a gun and knife that won't shut up. While I personally find myself on the optimistic side of things, I can completely understand why a lot of people aren't as excited about High On Life. It even prompted some particularly ornery gamers to declare that video games aren't and have never been funny. And I have to say that I disagree. Video games are naturally funny, they just aren't written that way.

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That isn't to say that there aren't well written games that are funny. The Portal, Psychonauts, and Monkey Island series are proof that games can be hilarious, with lovable characters in ridiculous circumstances. But more often than not, games meant to be funny or charming just come off as annoying—mainly because you'll hear the same lines over and over again. These catchphrases in games suffer from the same issue that plagues catchphrases in movies and television: over exposure. Classic phrases like "Did I do that?" and "My Wife!" eventually stopped being funny and just became irritating. Now instead of having that happen over a period of weeks or even months, have that all happen within hours. That’s excruciating. Daxter from Jak and Daxter was funny at first, but he quickly became an obnoxious ottsel. What’s particularly bewildering about this problem in games is that it doesn’t have to be a thing.

Almost every video game has a definitive goal: get to this checkpoint, kill this many enemies, survive a certain amount of time, etc. Comedy