Tutorials are a necessary evil. Gamers know that all too well. You boot up a hotly anticipated title only to be bombarded with text telling you how to play. You can’t exactly escape these instructions, though. Nor are they required to understand the core mechanics, but the developers often lock you in a room and force you to perform these pitifully easy tasks to proceed. Again, it’s necessary, but it’s also painfully boring. It doesn’t have to be, though.
Humor can alleviate a tutorial’s tedium. Many games adopt a tongue-in-cheek tone for their opening segments. During these early levels, the characters deliver the exposition in a lighthearted way—usually peppered with sight gags or self-aware digs. This approach helps you learn the basics without feeling like homework, making you all the more excited to experience the rest of the adventure. It takes a special talent to pull that off.
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10 Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
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The Rayman games are all various shades of wacky, but the third entry opts for more meta humor. Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc opens with the protagonist’s peaceful forest home falling under attack by the insectoid Hoodlums. In a panic, his frightened friend, Globox, accidentally runs off with the hero’s hands (don’t ask). Rayman’s other companion, Murphy, must guide him through the woods to catch Globox and figure out what’s happening. The method may surprise you, though.
Murphy walks you through the gameplay and story basics, but he does so by reading an in-game manual. As Rayman relearns his moves, his flying sidekick skims the synopsis and skips the boring bits. Players doubtlessly do the same whenever reading is required, but that’s not all. Murphy also comments on his contract—whining about his role as a sidekick and wanting to take his career elsewhere. Some of these gags are a little dated, but they’re an oddly appropriate fit given the series’ slapstick penchant. If anything, you’re sad to see Murphy leave after the opening level.[1]
9 Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Given how self-serious the Far Cry games are, the Blood Dragon expansion is an extremely pleasant surprise. It’s a brilliantly absurd take on ’80s action machismo and techno sci-fi, and its tone is evident from the first few minutes. Cyborg soldier Rex Colt’s system has been reset by his brother-in-arms. He must then perform a bunch of basic moves before being cleared for duty.
“Basic” is an understatement. The instructions are too condescending for kindergarteners. For instance, after teaching you to run, the computer says it’s “like walking, only faster.” The deadpan delivery, coupled with Rex’s anger, is a hilarious hit on tutorials. These sequences frequently spoon-feed you the simplest tasks; the developers seem to be talking down to you. As a result, you often feel impatient and annoyed. Seeing Rex share in that irritation is equal parts funny and relatable.[2]
8 Spider-Man
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy has a game based on each entry, and they all require a small learning curve. The tutorials for these superhero tie-ins are standard affairs on paper. They take you through the hero’s web-slinging and wall-crawling powers at a decent pace. However, it’s the narrator who truly brings these bits to life.
Talking you through these opening stages is Bruce Campbell. The Evil Dead star has cameos in all three of Rami’s Spidey flicks, so his presence here is perfect. He’s just as witty as ever. His sarcastic tone elevates even the simplest instructions. It sounds like he’s just as bored with the basics as you are, yet his smart-aleck comments lend an easygoing humor to the mundane ordeal. The Web-Head’s games would be far more fun today if they brought Bruce back.[3]
7 Bully
The first day of school is always intimidating, but not so with Bully. As delinquent Jimmy Hopkins arrives at the infamous Bullworth Academy, he familiarizes himself with the everyday violence and vulgarity. Basically, you go through the daily tasks and classes to get an idea of the gameplay loop. It’s not much different than the rest of the semester, but that’s not a bad thing.
The comedy comes from how inherently insane Bully is. Students and teachers hurl horrible threats and insults every few seconds. After fighting another kid, you humiliate him by twisting his arm, rubbing spit in his face, or doing some other disgusting thing to him. You then learn about the various cliques, complete with sly remarks from the characters. All these scenes are incredibly juvenile but with hints of self-awareness. The game ruthlessly mocks school culture. That’s nothing new in entertainment, but few examples do it with the unabashed classlessness of Grand Theft Auto.[4]
6 Destroy All Humans!
Destroy All Humans! is another demented series, and it proves that in its first level. Upon landing on Earth, Cryptosporidium-137 (or “Crypto”) stumbles across a farm. The resident hicks react with fear and hostility at the sight of the “little green spaceman,” much to Crypto’s chagrin. Even by this series’ standards, the setup is stereotypical, but Destroy All Humans! rolls with the cliches.
Starting with the age-old scenario—aliens harassing farmers—lets the game leave its mark. Crypto thinks the nearby cows are the dominant species, so he tests his mind-reading powers on them. The simplistic mooing gets a compliment from his superior, who remarks that it’s “primitive yet profound.” Later, Crypto is offended by the farmer’s wife calling him green. These gags take a consistently chuckle-worthy hatchet to societal archetypes of the time, and they tell you exactly what kind of humor you can expect from here on out.[5]
5 Deadpool
The Merc with the Mouth always tries to make his tales fun for audiences, and the same goes for his game. Deadpool opens in the anti-hero’s dingy apartment. You can explore his repulsive quarters and interact with his knick-knacks as you learn the controls. Most of these interactions are as dirty as Deadpool himself. They include pumping up an inflatable doll, eating rotten pizza, drinking cheap booze, and relieving yourself in the unsanitary restroom. The humor doesn’t stop at these optional activities, though.
The early narrative maintains that crude energy. After receiving the game’s script, the masked merc immediately starts changing it to suit his sensibilities. All the while, he argues with his inner voices about where the story should go. Finally, to introduce the characters, the game crafts manic montages with a crazed narrator recounting their comic histories. These aspects brilliantly capture Deadpool’s zany gallows humor. It’s all so chaotic that you can’t look away, and that keeps you playing.[6]
4 Monsters, Inc. Scream Team
Training is the name of the game here. Taking place before the iconic film, Monsters, Inc. Scream Team (or Scare Island) tasks Mike and Sully with undergoing a company course for potential scarers. The orientation walks them through light platforming, combat, and collecting. It’s entertaining enough, especially the Nerves. These are robots designed to simulate real children. Mike and Sully have various ways to scare them into submission. These methods all verge on cartoon slapstick, so they never get old. Like with the Spider-Man titles, though, it’s the narrator who steals the show.
Instructing the heroes is Roz, the company’s sardonic receptionist. Completing each step earns hearty congratulations from the old slug. However, she delivers this praise in the same tired, deadpan tone as the rest of her dialogue. That stark contrast is always good for a laugh. It’s like she’s echoing the crushing boredom that players feel whenever they suffer a tutorial. Not to mention, it adds up to a better prequel than Monsters University.[7]
3 Doom
In many ways, 2016’s Doom reboot is a middle finger to modern gaming conventions, especially shooters. Developers frequently fill these titles with predictable yet convoluted narratives about the horrors of war or some other pretentious message. Not only does this undermine potentially exciting combat, but it runs counter to the whole concept of a shooting game. Players everywhere roll their eyes. Thankfully, some developers still know how to have fun with the genre.
The tale begins with the Doom Slayer (or “Doomguy”) awakening in a destroyed facility on Mars. The legions of Hell are running amok due to the station’s interdimensional experiments, and the armored warrior must stop them. That’s all he cares about. The mysterious Dr. Samuel Hayden tries to explain the station’s purpose and how it benefits humanity, but the Slayer silently shuts him down at every turn. Whenever the desperate doctor asks him to preserve a piece of equipment, he smashes it to pieces. He has no patience for such nonsense. He’s here to kill monsters, and that’s exactly what he does. This attitude subverts the sensibilities of many developers today. You can’t help but laugh in grim satisfaction.[8]
2 Vampire: The Masquerade–Bloodlines
Once again, a tutorial stands out thanks to a witty teacher. Vampire: The Masquerade–Bloodlines is an ultraviolent adventure steeped in gallows humor. After being killed and resurrected as a vampire, you must get used to the undead way of life. Helping you on that journey is Smiling Jack. He’s an extremely powerful vampire with the persona of a drunken street bum. Because of that, he takes everything in stride, getting a sick kick out of the most gratuitous acts. You never know what he’s going to do, which brilliantly sets the campy tone. You can even join in the fun.
The game’s role-playing format lets you respond to Jack. Each exchange comes with a heap of dialogue options, and some of them are just as crazy as him. The ensuing conversations are off the walls. You can be laughing one minute and thoroughly repulsed the next. This unorthodox buddy dynamic fills you with sadistic glee, which is the ideal mindset for this world of supernatural horrors.[9]
1 Lollipop Chainsaw
Given the random title, you might wonder what Lollipop Chainsaw even is. Well, it revolves around a zombie-hunting cheerleader. The upbeat Juliet is incredibly endearing from the get-go. She uses her ditzy valley girl voice to convey an ironclad sense of duty. At the same time, she constantly fantasizes about her boyfriend and other teenage troubles. You don’t expect these extremes to mix, but the game hilariously holds that tone throughout the first level.
The opening sequence unfolds in Juliet’s high school during a zombie apocalypse. That scenario is usually a grim affair fraught with hopelessness, but Lollipop Chainsaw gives it all the pep of a cheerleading routine. Death and mayhem unfold all around the heroine. Despite that, her unyielding enthusiasm combines with the flashy presentation and blaring pop music to craft a confidently crazy venture. For the icing on the cake, Juliet severs her deceased boyfriend’s head, reanimates it, and straps it to her belt so that they can always be together. Moments like that tell you exactly what kind of game you’re getting. You wonder what was going through the creators’ heads when making this unhinged title. After a while, though, you just settle in for the wild ride.[10]