History LeaningOnTheFourthWall / VideoGames

* Near the end of ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}: Risky's Revenge'', the title character shows reluctance at helping a boss from earlier in the game, claiming that she saw her "exploding in some sort of massive Stage Clear spectacle."

** If you have Bernadetta in your party between the last two chapters and speak to her in the Monastery, she'll express worry that "Everyone's acting like this is leading up to the final chapter in a book or something."

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance]]'' has several conversations wherein a character is playing a war game and asks for strategic advice on a battle that just happens to be very similar to the battle you're about to play.

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoChronicle: After you break the stone in Bleuo and arrive in Retty, Ringo points out that this means a hypothesis Maguro had made earlier came true. Maguro explains that he thought "maybe we're dealing with some sort of progression mechanic?" and that since a lot of the video games he plays have a mechanic like that, that's how he figured breaking the stone would let them move on to the next village. While he explicitly uses the term "progression mechanic", he doesn't say much else to imply that he's aware that he's in a game himself.

** If you don't bother to dodge any of [[FinalBoss Giga Queen's]] initial attacks, she'll worry you've forgotten how to pilot a [[HumongousMecha giant robot]] and explains how to use the keyboard... as in, the one inside the [[HumongousMecha Thrash Machine]] that controls it.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', if you don't bother to dodge any of [[FinalBoss Giga Queen's]] initial attacks, she'll worry you've forgotten how to pilot a [[HumongousMecha giant robot]] and explains how to use the keyboard interface inside.

* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'': At several points throughout the game, a character will behave as though something from the previous games happened a long time ago, only to then be reminded/remember that it was only a few days ago in-universe. This is poking fun at [[SequelGap the long period between the games' releases]]. ''VideoGame/PsychonautsInTheRhombusOfRuin'' came out in 2017, four years prior, while the original VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}} was released in 2005, ''sixteen'' years prior.
--> '''Raz''': Interesting, the campfire at Whispering Rock. I haven't been here for...days!

** When The Boss and Snake have a radio conversation before beginning the Virtuous Mission, The Boss notes that Snake doesn't have much experience in fighting or sneaking through the jungle, and that urban warfare and infiltrating buildings were his specialty - urban warfare and building infiltration being the primary settings of every previous ''Metal Gear'' game. She's talking about what the player is used to by this point as much as she's talking about what Snake is good at.

* The second mission of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' ends with a line that can very well be read as commentary on the game itself rather than [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war it's portraying]], given that its stated goal was being "''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'', perfected".

** After Dalton modifies the Epoch and gets ready to test it, the Heroic Theme plays, to which he exclaims "No, no, no! Stop the music!" at which point the crisis theme starts and he comments on how "Ah! Much better!".

* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts2}}'': At several points throughout the game, a character will behave as though something from the previous games happened a long time ago, only to then be reminded/remember that it was only a few days ago in-universe. This is poking fun at the long waiting period between the games' releases. VideoGame/PsychonautsInTheRhombusOfRuin came out in 2017, four years prior, while the original VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}} was released in 2005, sixteen years prior!

* VideoGame/{{Shing}}: Despite having no reason to trust her, [[spoiler: should you choose the alternate ending by heeding the AI's request turn back to the elevator and leave without the Starseed, the player quartet will comment on how it fellt like a strong, overwhelming force was telling them it was the right thing to do, during the ride up. Wilhelm remarks that the will of the gods is not to be questioned.]]

* Blizzard is a company in the world of ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' that produced all of the other Blizzard games. D.Va is a champion ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft}}'' player, and Blizzard has an in-world amusement park which contains rides based on their other games.

---> '''Soldier: 76''': War isn't a game.
---> '''D.Va''': Are you sure life isn't a game, Soldier: 76?

** When Richard asks the player character "Do you like hurting other people?", he's asking both him the player, if they enjoyed killing people in the video game.

* ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'': Towards the end of the game, Biker remarks that he's bored and wishes for the "stupid game" to end now and demands some answers. In-universe, this refers to him getting tired of the assassinations he's been made to do, but on a meta-level, [[AudienceSurrogate he's reflecting the feelings of players]] who are tired of playing the game and want actual answers to mysteries the game has presented.

* One of Venom's taunts in ''VideoGame/SpiderMan'' is him humming part of the famous opening of the original Spider-Man cartoon.

* On the continue screen of ''[[VideoGame/ArcanaHeart Arcana Heart 3]]'', if you lose with Lilica, she'll chastize you and say that "losing a game just causes stress".

* ''VideoGame/ExponentialIdle'': The player character mentions after the second Prestige that the fucntion value growing at an increasing pace is beginning to feel like an idle game.

** After Dalton modifies the Epoch and gets ready to test it, the Heroic Theme plays, to which he exclaims "No, no, no! Stop the music!" at which point the crisis theme starts and he comments on how "that's better".

** [[BigGood The Board]] occasionally assigns missions and directives in video game terminology, referring to the situation [[PlayerCharacter Jesse]] has found herself in as "the game", [[HeKnowsAboutTheTimedHits the various items and upgrades as "loot" and "Mods"]] (the same term the interface itself refers to upgrades with). Considering that its dialogue is occasionally [[WordSaladHorror eldritch-to-English word salad]], it's unknown just how aware it really is.

* Pit's first line in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' is "Sorry to keep you waiting!". He's talking to his superior, the goddess Palutena, but it also counts as pointing out the fact that the game came out [[SequelGap 21 years]] after the previous game.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'': If the player wishes to avoid a long sniper battle with the End, they can take the easy way out by setting the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 2}}'s internal clock more than a week ahead (or by simply not playing the game for more than a week). When the save file loads, a cutscene will be shown of Snake finding the End already dead of old age, and calling Major Zero on his Codec. As a way of chastising the player for cheating, Snake comments that he regrets "disappointing" the End, as it was his dying wish to have a real fight. Zero, however, [[CombatPragmatist orders Snake to get his head back in the mission]], telling him, "It's not a game. It's not a sport. You think you're competing for the gold at Tokyo or something?"