Sometimes the best thing a video game can offer you is good laughs. 2013 delivered quality humor in many different packages, sometimes by drawing upon the real world for inspiration, and other times through parody of other games.
We’ve put together a list of the funniest games of the year. If you’re looking for comedy from your next video game purchase, you can’t go wrong with any of these five titles.
See the gallery below for the list:
The 5 Funniest Video Games of 2013
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Saints Row IV
The Saints Row series is known for putting fun and humor before anything else. Saints Row IV adhered to this philosophy with wackyiness from beginning to end. Its missions were rife with parody. You traveled back to the 1950s, skipping around and sliding down handrails instead of walking down stairs. Because, you know, everyone was so happy-go-lucky in the 1950s. There was even a Metal Gear Solid parody mission that fans of Solid Snake couldn't help but giggle at.
I mean really, there's a gun in Saints Row IV called 'Merica that is essentially one huge Swiss Army knife gun, and a massive purple Dildo Bat you can knock enemies out with. What other game in 2013 can say that?
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The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable is a total mind freak. It presents you with more decisions per minute than any other game in history, and makes you second guess the choices you make with well-written dialog by the game's sarcastic narrator. Pressing a button usually isn't funny, but it certainly is in The Stanley Parable.
If you look around in the environments you'll see little details that add flavorful humor the experience. Notes placed on computer monitors tell the tale of bored office workers, and the game doesn't skip the opportunity to take a jab at corporate greed. Whoever wrote The Stanley Parable deserves a raise.
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Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends doesn't take itself too seriously. In this case, that's a good thing. Its characters run around with their mouths open as if they're a dog with their head out a car window. Its music is full of chipmunks singing—or maybe drugged-up people inhaling helium. Sound effects are overly dramatic. The entire presentation must have been designed by someone on LSD.
If you play co-op with a friend you're in for an even more hilarious time. Your friend will probably punch you into a lava pitt, but you'll have ample time to return the favor. Seeing your friend miss a critical jump during an intense platforming sequence is sure to evoke a good laugh.
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Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4 doesn't intend to be funny, but just like the best comedians it comes naturally. Its multiplayer mode gives you all the tools needed to have fun and experience unforgettable moments at the expense of other players. It's common to see a dude get ran over by a quad. It's even more common to see a jet crash into a building during a dogfight.
If you pay attention to your surroundings it won't be long before you see something hilarious go down. Sometimes that means a guy parachuting out of his jet before being struck by a helicopter rotor. Other times that means seeing a boat launch onto the beach, running over a guy in the process, and then proceeding to gun down everyone in sight. If you can last one hour in Battlefield 4 without laughing consider yourself unlucky.
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Grand Theft Auto V
When you have a team of hundreds whose only job is to make a game funny, it's no surprise that the game provides a generous amount of laughs. Everything about Grand Theft Auto V is knee-slappingly funny, from its characters and missions, to its audio. Driving around the fictional Los Santos with the radio turned on is like going to a comedy club.
More than any other game of 2013, Grand Theft Auto V dares to cross the line. A lot of its humor hits topics that are controversial, but it does its job delicately enough to not make it a problem. Jokes about pop culture are plentiful. American Idol takes a shot, as does Apple. It's almost as if the world of Los Santos is a mirror image of our own, albeit with way more people who aren't careful about what they say.
