The funniest, silliest, most uplifting games on PC

With all that's happening in the world right now, it's best to have a good 'ol giggle. Whether it's slapstick comedy, punchy timing, a chuckle-worthy quip, goofing around, or just a simple butt joke—in these games when a joke lands, it lands hard. Turn away from the dark side. Let there be light. 

Saints Row: The Third

Release date: 2011 | Developer: Volition | Steam

Though people only seem to remember the 'dildo bat', this is a game that thrives in both broad, goofy nonsense and a sprinkling of quieter character moments. There’s a gleeful, rapid-fire absurdity to its set-pieces and open world interactions—from suplexing random pedestrians to turning into a virtual reality toilet—but it’s also, crucially, a game about a bunch of friends just enjoying each other’s company.

During an early car ride, two characters sing along to What I Got by Sublime on the stereo. As they rib each other for forgetting the lyrics or singing off-key, their laughter is infectious. —Robin Valentine

Jazzpunk: Director's Cut

Release date: 2014 | Developer: Necrophone Games | Steam

Jazzpunk is that rare comedy game that doesn't just deliver jokes at you. It makes the player an active part of the comedy, letting you play around in the joke space; trusting you to stretch out and delay a punchline long past the point it should have stopped being funny. It never stops being funny, though. Jazzpunk's visual wit and cinematic flair packs jokes and joke-like-flourishes into every corner of its levels. —Phil Savage

The Stanley Parable

Release date: 2013 | Developer: Galactic Cafe | Steam

A game that shatters the fourth wall to tease you with illusions of autonomy. Will you turn left or right in this corridor? The narrator already has quips prepared for every outcome. Somehow The Stanley Parable never becomes irritating, even as it thwarts your every action with forced fails. The punchlines land, and it's fun to restart every time knowing that the game has a new path laid out for you. None of this would work without the exceptional voice work from the narrator. Great script; great performance. Outstanding comedy. —Tom Senior

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Release date: 2014 | Developer: Obsidian | Steam

The Stick of Truth is a pitch-perfect South Park game, diving into the show's history and pulling out some of the best jokes Matt Stone and Trey Parker have come up with in a long time. It's also a genuinely good RPG, with Obsidian taking it in some unexpected directions. With the poop jokes, Nazi zombies and a penchant for punching up, down and in any old direction, however, it's definitely a guilty pleasure. —Fraser Brown

Tales from the Borderlands

Release date: 2014 | Developer: Telltale | Steam

Simultaneously the funniest Borderlands and Telltale game, Tales from the Borderlands is as deft at character development as it is at one-liners. It's an unexpectedly cathartic, heartfelt comedy where it's impossible to not become attached to Rhys, Fiona and their buds. It's still an authentic Borderlands romp—sans shooting—but it just uses its style more effectively and has better jokes. —Fraser Brown

Grim Fandango

Release date: 1998 | Developer: LucasArts | Steam

There is a moving story at the heart of this game—our heroes are trying to escape purgatory, but find connections and even love along the way. Not a great scene for laughs, you might think, but Grim Fandango overflows with gags about the afterlife and what comes next. Few games are as funny and poignant. Comedy and tragedy come together perfectly here. It's Tim Schafer's best work. —Tom Senior

Portal 2

Release date: 2011 | Developer: Valve | Steam

Valve's innovative puzzles have you experimenting with ways to traverse the clinical madhouse that is the Aperture Science Laboratories. Portal teases you with a few sarcastic quips early on, before showing its true colours as the reality of your situation takes hold. Portal 2's dry humour steps things up further, as you're accompanied by the babbling AI embodiment of comedian Stephen Merchant. Even if you happen to get stuck on a puzzle, these jokes will keep you chuckling. —Emma Matthews

What the Golf?

Release date: 2020 | Developer: Triband | Steam

I put Triband's wacky "game for people who hate golf" to the ultimate test at the weekend: I showed it to my dad. He loves golf, the real one that involves actual walking. He has a handicap and everything. Naturally What the Golf?'s physical humour topped off with witty puns passed the test. It sent my typically taciturn old man into hysterics, proving its universal, nonsensical, appeal. —Harry Shepherd

West of Loathing

Release date: 2017 | Developer: Asymmetric | Steam

The Wild West has been turned into a stage for slapstick comedy and goofy humour in West of Loathing. This stick-figure RPG is bursting with well-written comedy through its quests, dialogue, item descriptions, and any other place the developers could squeeze in a joke. Riding my ghost horse into the sunset after successfully punching a bunch of demon cows to death is not something I get to do often in games. —Rachel Watts

Not For Broadcast 

Release date: 2022 | Developer: NotGames | Steam

Juggle all aspects of a live broadcast in an alternate version of the 1980s. This goofy propaganda sim keeps the pressure on as you scramble to get to grips with switching camera feeds and censoring swearing. The juxtaposition between what should be a serious subject—a political scandal—and the glimpses you get of what's going on behind the scenes make for moments where you'll genuinely laugh out loud. Great care has even been taken with small details: the adverts are hilarious. —Emma Matthews

Sam & Max Hit the Road

Release date: 1993 | Developer: LucasArts | Steam

The first game based on the Sam & Max comics is still the funniest, as the wry talking dog and his lunatic rabbit partner crisscross the United States trying to solve the case of a missing Bigfoot. American roadside attractions are both celebrated and lampooned as you visit Frog Rock (which doesn't look like a frog), Mount Rushmore (which has become a bungee jumping park AND a dinosaur tarpit), and Florida's Gator Golf Emporium. It's the kind of adventure game where you don't mind getting stuck because it gives you more time to discover every last bit of hilarious dialogue. —Chris Livingston

Yakuza 0

Release date: 2018 | Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku | Steam

Yakuza 0 is tricksy. At first, it wants you to think it is a very serious crime game about a man framed for murder. Hours later, as you're ordering a chicken you won in a bowling competition to manage your real-estate empire, the jig has long been up: this is an absurd, satirical, and wildly silly send up of '80s excess. It's also got one of the best main characters in gaming in Kiryu, who acts as the earnest straight man to a world full of ridiculous characters and events. —Phil Savage