History LeaningOnTheFourthWall / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion2'': The device that Prof. E Gadd uses to communicate with Luigi is very unreservedly a [=DS=], which the game calls the [[FunWithAcronyms Dual Scream]]. It even resembles an original, 2004 [=DS=] with the thicker pre-[=DS=} Lite design. When E Gadd first calls Luigi through it, he says he was worried the battery was dead - luckily, though, it should last longer because he turned the screen brightness down.

* In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'': This comes up frequently as EnemyChatter.
-->'''Criminal:''' Arkham City's worse than the old one. I should get a refund.
** One dialogue among three thugs inside the museum during the epilogue initially sounds like they're just discussing what's going to happen to the inmates now that the Arkham City experiment has failed. But considering that players never hear who the 'they' they're talking about are, it sounds an awful lot like they're talking about where the sequel will take place. Here's the exchange, with a bit of paraphrasing.
--->'''Thug 1:''' So what happens now?\\

** In "Harley Quinn's Revenge", a couple of thugs discuss the [[WildMassGuessing fan theory]] that [[spoiler: Batman carried Clayface out of Arkham City, not the Joker]] before one of them dismisses it as [[ThisIsReality stupid and unrealistic]]. The other responds that so was the idea of [[spoiler: two Jokers]].
** Joker [[MediumAwareness (as usual)]] leans on the wall throughout the both games. However he outright leans so hard the fourth wall cracks with this line:
--->"Helloooo, Batman! You can hear me, right? It's just, you don't seem to be coming to the movie theatre, and I'd hate for you to read the spoilers on the Internet again!"

** The series has M'aiq the Liar, a recurring EasterEgg LegacyCharacter who has appeared in every game since ''Morrowind''. M'aiq is a known FourthWallObserver to the point of leaning on it (and sometimes outright ''[[BreakingTheFourthWall breaking it]]'') who [[AuthorAvatar voices the opinions]] of the series' creators and developers, largely in the form of {{Take That}}s, to both the [[TakeThatAudience audience]] (given the ''ES'' UnpleasableFanbase) and isn't above [[SelfDeprecation taking some]] at [[TakeThatUs Bethesda itself]]. His "meta" dialogue understandably doesn't make any sense from an in-universe perspective and justifiably makes him seem [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} very detached from the game world]].

** One of these multiplayer characters is an [[SquishyWizard N7 Fury]] talking to an Alliance Procurement Officer, who gets her a heavy shotgun, thermal clips, and a strength enhancer. Given that none of these things are optimized for such a class, those who've played the multiplayer get this is a nod to the fickleness of the RandomNumberGenerator nature of the online store.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'s end song: ''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Still Alive]]''

* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', after the Chicken vs Egg" Splatfest Marina comments to one of Pearl's comments with "It's funny because we're all living in a simulation and free will is a lie." It refers to the fact they're in a video game, but also refers to the ideas that life is actually a simulation and that free will doesn't truly exist.[[spoiler:On a darker note, it also refers to Marina's old life as an Octoling soldier; being raised on orders in such a tech-heavy environment will do that to people.]]

*** After finally defeating the tough BonusBoss [[spoiler:Sigrun]], Atreus comments that his fingers are sore and Kratos responds that what he did was no small feat and that he should be proud, both comments that could well be addressed to the player.

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** ''[[VideoGame/MarioParty Mario Party 5]]'': When it comes to the final five turns, Bowser will show the current player ranks and then remark 'At this rate, (leader) is going to beat all of you! If it's that easy, this ain't a Mario Party!', in what can definitely be read as an acknowledgement from the developers of how you can be screwed out of the lead in ''no time at all'' in this series.

** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', the cast of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' assume Sora, Donald and Goofy are toys based on a videogame they've been playing. When Sora starts talking about cosmic-level stuff, Buzz thinks he's talking nonsense, but then remembers, "Oh, right, you're from a videogame."

** Not that they're doing this in a game that [[NoFourthWall ever had a fourth wall in the first place]]...

* In ''VideoGame/TheFermiParadox'', a game currently only available on PC, one of the philosophical questions that a civilization can ponder is "are we all living in a computer simulation?"

* In ''[[VideoGame/PuzzleAndDragons Puzzle & Dragon Z]]'', when they reached the final stage of The Passage of Life, the Hero, Nick and Sara mention how they've gotten to the end of the dungeon. Sara says that at the end of a dungeon there's only one thing there could be. Prompting everyone to simultaneously shout out "BOSS BATTLE!"

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', Pokey explains some of the game's mechanics to Ness, then apologizes for all the "game-type advice".

* ''[[Franchise/FireEmblem Fire Emblem]]'':
** ''[[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.

** In [[VideoGame/{{Portal2}} the sequel]], a few of Wheatley's lines.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' occasionally breaks the fourth wall, but more often makes passing comments in throwaway puns that give translators headaches that lean pretty heavily on the fourth wall. A good example is Marisa's comment in ''Imperishable Night'' where, when asked what she was doing out at night early on in the game, Marisa replies, "It's my annual {{Youkai}} Extermination Month. I'll go wherever youkai live." - ''Imperishable Night'' and the other Windows ''Touhou'' games before it were all released in the same month of consecutive years. It's worth noting that even though the game came out in the same month in real life, the games take place during different seasons in-game (with the seasons being important basic elements to several of those games, like ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' being about someone stealing the season of Spring, keeping Winter from passing), meaning the joke only makes sense when it is referencing the fourth wall.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder making derogatory comments on CJ's poor driving is basically Rockstar's own way to mock those gamers who can't learn how to use the driving controls in the Grand Thefto Auto games, only crashing through objects and having the vehicles end up in the most absurd positions while driving poorly.

* ''VideoGame/GramndTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder making derogatory comments on CJ's poor driving is basically Rockstar's own way to mock those gamers who can't learn how to use the driving controls in the Grand Thefto Auto games, only crashing through objects and having the vehicles end up in the most absurd positions while driving poorly.

** Near the beginning, when you're supposed to get up and go see your Father, one of your speech choices for what took you so long is, "I just wanted to have a look around." When you choose this option, [[spoiler: Henry says, "Somehow I had the feeling I was seeing everything for the first time."]] Which is really creepy if it's the first time you've ever played the game.
** During one of the quests, a priest asks you to erect an "atonement cross", something which is ubiquitous in the game but unheard of in modern times. Your character says, "A what?" to which the priest replies, "You act like you just fell from the stars!"

* ''VideoGame/KingdomComeDeliverance: Several times, the game gets ''really'' meta.

* In ''VideoGame/TheReconstruction'', whenever a character joins the guild's roster, there's a little fanfare that plays. When the starting cast joins in the beginning, [[DeadpanSnarker Qual]][[MetaGuy stio]] says "Is that nauseatingly cheerful music gonna play every time someone joins?" at one point. [[spoiler:Kulkumatz]] [[BrickJoke also asks]] "What was that sound?" when he joins. Also overlaps with LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn.

* Ember does this in ''VideoGame/SpyroAHerosTail''. Her line goes "Don't take that bridge to the swamp, Spyro. If you do, I might never see you again". This both refers to the fact that it's dangerous, and that she literally disappears from the game after you cross the bridge.

* VideoGame/{{Shing}}: Despite having no reason to trust her, [[spoiler: should you choose the alternate ending by heeding the AI's request to turn back to the elevator and leave without the Starseed, the quartet will comment on how it felt 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.]]

** [[BonusBoss Jevil]] went mad after his encouter with a mysterious figure lead him to believe that his world was just a game. This could be referring to the fact that Jevil and the other Darkeners in chapter 1 are embodied in the Light World by [[LivingToys playing cards and board game pieces]], or the fact that [[NoticingTheFourthWall he's a character in a video game]].

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', Pokey explains some of the game's mechanics to Ness, then apologizes for all the "game-type advice".