Games often get us excited, anxious, and hyped up, but it’s much harder for a video game to make us laugh. Giggle fits that come from trolling your friends in multiplayer games aside, it’s rare for a game to be genuinely funny. Luckily, there were some immensely funny games in 2022, ranging from nostalgic sequels to absurd cloven-hoofed adventures.
As they say, laughter is the best medicine, so we’ve rustled together the six games that made us chortle the hardest in 2022 (and listed them in no particular order). Whether through witty writing, slapstick humor, or flat-out oddity, these games had us slapping our knees until we were red in the face. Obviously, comedy is subjective, so you may not find these games as hilarious as we did. However, with a variety of humor suitable for all sorts of players, we’re confident that at least one title on our list of the funniest games of 2022 will have you in stitches.
The Funniest Games of 2022
6. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
The Lego games have always been a good source of good ‘ol fashioned slapstick humor and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is no different. However, this expansive adventure game broadens its comedic horizons with clever mission titles, over-the-top cutscenes, and an overwhelmingly goofy vibe.
Family-friendly comedy is rarely this effective, but Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga delivers on its promises and exudes humor that elicits hoots of laughter from players of all ages. Plus, the game contains a much-requested “mumble mode”, which replaces the spoken dialogue with the revered babbling of Lego games gone by.
5. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Borderlands 2 was arguably the peak of Gearbox’s humor, balancing a wacky tone with legitimately interesting characters and scenarios. While Borderlands 3 wasn’t exactly a knock out of the park, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands recovers some of the disappointment by giving players a boisterous Dungeons & Dragons-style narrative that’s actually funny.
As long as you can bear the manic energy of the eponymous Tiny Tina as she narrates the adventure, Wonderlands is a creative and chuckle-worthy game that playfully references all sorts of nerdy stuff without feeling like it’s completely pandering. My expectations for Wonderlands were tempered, but luckily it was satisfyingly humorous, rarely descending into cringe territory.
4. PowerWash Simulator
Every few years, a relatively unknown multiplayer game takes the industry by storm, resulting in upbeat and entertaining matches among friends. Much like Fall Guys did in 2020, PowerWash Simulator provides a multiplayer landscape where you don’t have to think too hard to have fun and it’s almost impossible not to get goofy along the way.
Armed with a trusty power washer, you and your friends undertake numerous filthy jobs, spraying away any semblance of dirt, rust, and grime. Some quirky twists in the very limited narrative are also worth a chuckle or two, but PowerWash Simulator slides onto this list of the funniest games of 2022 for its unique blend of catharsis and opportunities for multiplayer griefing.
3. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe takes one of the most celebrated walking simulators of the modern era and does what most companies fail to do – make it better by remastering it. Playing as Stanley, an average office worker who follows the instructions (or not) of an omnipotent narrator, players are encouraged to go against the mold in this irreverent tale.
The game’s dry humor, laugh-out-loud meta moments, and complete dedication to the concept make The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe one of the funniest games of 2022 (and one of the best “remasters” ever).
2. Goat Simulator 3
The first Goat Simulator was basically the dictionary definition of “dumb fun” in the form of a video game, tasking players with exploring middle America as a mayhem-inducing goat. Goat Simulator 3 takes all the ridiculous hilarity and gameplay of the original and expands almost every aspect, with more quests, costumes, and even four-player online multiplayer.
Together with friends, it’s hard not to play a session of Goat Simulator 3 without it descending into sidesplitting madness, leaving you and your crew in stitches. Whether you’re screaming through the sky with a jetpack, running over pedestrians with a stolen car, or licking everything in sight, Goat Simulator 3 is by far one of the funniest games of 2022.
1. Return to Monkey Island
In 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island took the point ‘n click adventure genre by storm, mainly due to its hilarious writing and irreverent pirate theme. Luckily, the franchise creator and co-writer Ron Gilbert hasn’t lost his sense of humor over the past 30 years, as Return to Monkey Island is just as funny as ever.
This long-awaited sequel once again follows the exploits of bumbling underdog pirate Guybrush Threepwood as he searches for a legendary treasure off the coast of the Caribbean. Charming, nostalgic, and full of self-referential humor, Return to Monkey Island was a humorous treat through and through.
