History ObfuscatingStupidity / VideoGames

-->[[spoiler:'''Arkham:''' ''You failed, Vergil, because you underestimated humans'']]
-->[[spoiler:'''Jester/Arkham:''']] ''I even went so far as to dress up like a complete idiot!!''

-->'''Sarcastic!Hawke''': Oh I'd make a terrible slave. For one thing, '''I talk too much.'''
--> ''[pulls a knife out thin air and holds it to the slaver's throat]''
--> '''Sarcastic!Hawke''': ''Plus'', I do that.

---> '''Aya (in narration):''' I feigned ignorance the whole time. Because I loved father.

* In VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsUX, Richard takes up a foreigner act and starts talking mixture of easy words from languages to pretend he's not a serious mercenary when he's on cover missions with Saya, Agnes is completely fooled by this and thinks they are comedians (comic story tellers).

* In ''VideoGame/{{Skyborn}}'', [[GentlemanSnarker Sullivan Chesterford]] is introduced as a [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob rich fop]] who earns [[WrenchWench Claret's]] ire by being a poor pilot for his airship, forcing it to need repairs within a year. He proves himself [[StoneWall surprisingly competent]] [[RoyalRapier in a fight]] when he and [[GunsAkimbo Claret]] team up in the first battle of the game. This makes sense as he's [[spoiler: the [[SecretIdentity Red]] [[RebelLeader Spectre]]. His [[HalfHumanHybrid half-sister]]]] Jillian actually offers this as an explanation for his behavior:

* Played with in ''Videogame/WeHappyFew''. One memory has Percy lying to an angry woman that ''he'' was in a tree outside her daughter's bedroom window, while in reality it was his brother, Arthur. When Arthur later confronts him about this, Percy says that he took the blame because he's slow[[note]]Percy has an AmbiguousDisorder that would nowadays fall under the autism spectrum, but since Arthur and Percy grew up in the 1940's, his condition is left undiagnosed[[/note]] and would thus not be punished as harshly (since people would assume he was just being weird, instead of being a pervert).

* ''Videogame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'': Marilyn Sue Dajie is a bubbly, ditzy, cheerful AnimeChineseGirl with few more than her [[{{Gainaxing}} huge boobs]] going for her at first sight. But make no mistake: this beautiful young woman is a very skilled DarkActionGirl, as well as determined enough to take risks that other [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triad members and assassins]] won't, in her desire to ascend into the Triad's hierarchies.

** Pyro could be too, as most of when he/she's trying to speak under the mask sounds somewhat condescending.
*** A later "Meet the Pyro" video revealed that the (s)he is utterly insane and views the world as a [[SugarBowl happy, colourful place]] where (s)he skips around dishing out lollipops and rainbows to adorable cherubs, when in reality (s)he is causing pain and suffering by shooting gouts of searing flame at his/her enemies. Since (s)he has such a warped view of reality the smart/dumb scale doesn't really apply to him/her.
*** In the new online comics series, it is show that when not being a mercenary, Pyro is a successful businessperson, being responsible for a company's "best quarter ever," thanks to their new CEO, Pyro. He still sees everything as a cartoon and still only hears gibberish, but everything looks grey and boring to him if they're not on fire.

* The (almost) [[FourthWallObserver eponymous]] [[GenkiGirl hero]][[LazyBum ine]] of ''{{VideoGame/Neptunia}}'' is somewhat implied to be this just to get the attention. Putting that in mind, [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Hist]][[NumberTwo oire's]] inclination to lecture and get angry at Neptune's shenanigans and laziness make [[FridgeBrilliance a bit more sense now.]]
* Most of the characters of ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'' do this in some way, shape, or form. [[spoiler: Particularly June and Santa, who are Zero and her brother respectively.]]
* Zelos from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is highly intelligent, skilled at manipulation, [[spoiler:and has severe self-loathing stemming from some ''severe'' ParentalAbandonment, not to mention being [[XanatosSpeedChess a triple agent who's playing the party, Cruxis and the Renegades against each other to ensure he's got a shot of joining whoever's the victors]]]]. He hides all of this under a facade of being a happy-go-lucky HandsomeLech who seems to have made it his life's mission to hit on every female in existence and antagonise [[{{Tsundere}} Sheena]].
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Wrath of the Lich King'', the Lich King uses this trope as part of an extremely effective XanatosGambit.
* When Raven joins your party in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', he presents himself as a goofy but skilled middle-aged HandsomeLech who imparts nuggets of wisdom that no-one asked for and constantly complains about how he can't keep up with the other, much more youthful party members. [[spoiler:In fact, he's TheMole for the local SmugSnake. His true identity is that of a cunning, experienced and suave knight who, under his "Raven" persona, managed to infiltrate the highest levels of the Dahngrest government over ten years]].
* The entire ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' team, all of whom the Announcer refers to as having "below average" intelligence, outside the attack classes, could count. Demoman seems like a friendly, reasonable guy when he's not drunk, based on the War update comic, and it's hard to be stupid and make five million dollars in one year; plus, as he puts it, it he weren't skilled at combining and preparing highly volatile compounds, he "wouldn't be here discussin' it with ya." Heavy has a Ph.D. in Russian literature, and if the Russian "Meet The Heavy" is any clue, is much more eloquent in his native language. Engineer has 11 "hard science" Ph.D.s, which speaks for itself. "Meet The Medic" revealed Medic is indeed a trained doctor, though he's barking mad and he lost his license for stealing a patient's skeleton. Sniper managed to rig a tribal shield to electrify its attackers, and while not as smart as the rest, doesn't seem "below average." Spy had the resources, intelligence, contacts, and capability to thoroughly research a "YourMom" joke, in addition to being able to do a spot-on impression of the voice of all eight other team members, and seeming like a completely civil, intelligent gentleman off the battlefield. Below average, indeed.
** Pyro could be too, as most of when he/she's trying to speak under the mask sounds somewhat condescending.
*** A later "Meet the Pyro" video revealed that the (s)he is utterly insane and views the world as a [[SugarBowl happy, colourful place]] where (s)he skips around dishing out lollipops and rainbows to adorable cherubs, when in reality (s)he is causing pain and suffering by shooting gouts of searing flame at his/her enemies. Since (s)he has such a warped view of reality the smart/dumb scale doesn't really apply to him/her.
*** In the new online comics series, it is show that when not being a mercenary, Pyro is a successful businessperson, being responsible for a company's "best quarter ever," thanks to their new CEO, Pyro. He still sees everything as a cartoon and still only hears gibberish, but everything looks grey and boring to him if they're not on fire.
* [[spoiler:Levin]] from ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'' appears to be a complete idiot...up to the point [[spoiler:where he stabs your OldMaster dead out of the blue and reveals he's the last world eater; he's helped you because you've been killing off -- or given him an opening to kill -- everyone who was ever a challenge to his [[AGodAmI future bid for godhood]], and every single time he left the party to wander around and came running back dragging trouble behind him, he did it entirely on purpose.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'':
** Remilia Scarlet starts the Windows-era tradition off, and can be considered a feeling out of how to make this trope work. The first and second things you'd notice about her are her overwhelming, unsubtle magical and [[LightningBruiser physical]] power and her childish, often bratty, [[CardCarryingVillain clearly villanous]] nature. She loves playing all of the above - and sometimes the fool besides - but honestly is an elder vampire who can lose the immaturity in an instant. Her oldest friend is a magic researcher, and Remilia's refined both magic and vampiric powers to the point of being nigh-unkillable; she can play the villain because she can afford to lose. And for an apparent recluse she's sometimes suspiciously well informed about outside events. Her version of this trope is easy to write for: a Remilia who knows she's being played will do exactly the same thing as a Remilia who doesn't, just with a bit more snark. But she's not that manipulative or into scheming, and as she usually has no motive to play dumb beyond "it's so much more fun this way" (although playing a child is also for the benefit of her little sister, who in canon really is mentally stuck there), she can be considered a first step towards the following more developed cases.
** Resident hungry ghost Yuyuko Saigyouji definitely fits the bill. It's a very real possibility she's actually even smarter than TheChessmaster Yukari.
*** During Yuyuko's appearance in ''Imperishable Night'' she keeps talking about the incident-solving as a "wonderful midnight snack tour across the land" and have an overall very carefree attitude towards the whole thing. But if you look at her dialogue carefully, it's very much implied she already figured out everything beforehand, and each "dish" is a metaphor for every enemy they're facing.
*** She continues this in ''Ten Desires''. After picking a fight with the player character [[ItAmusedMe for no real reason]], she then quickly points them out to the right direction despite never actually leaving her mansion.
** For that matter, Yukari Yakumo herself, while never pretending to be stupid, is ''incredibly'' good at either making her ingenious masterplans look like really petty mischief or covering up the fact that her more obviously ingenious plans are ''way'' more complex than they appear to be and there's seldom any way to actually beat her [[XanatosGambit without giving her exactly what she wants.]]
*** In the past, Yukari rallied groups of {{youkai}} and initiated an invasion of the Moon. To the {{Lunarians}}, this looked like a foolish, doomed attempt by the youkai to overthrow them. To the youkai, it started out as an attempt to get their hands on the Lunarians' technology, but quickly became a lesson not to listen to people who want you to invade your neighbours, because that is liable to get you killed by said neighbours. To Yukari, it was all an opportunity to study the barrier that the Lunarians had set up in order to hide away in their own PocketDimension. She needed this knowledge in order to create a FantasticNatureReserve that the other youkai, now that they had learned a lesson about expansionism, would not carelessly venture out of: Gensoukyou, the setting of the games.
*** [[Manga/TouhouBougetsushou Many, many years later,]] Yukari initiated a second invasion of the moon. First she [[BatmanGambit set up]] [[UnwittingPawn Remilia Scarlet]] to invade the Moon head-on in order to distract the Lunarians from Yukari's own, much stealthier, invasion of the Moon; which she, in turn, set up [[KansasCityShuffle in order to distract the Lunarians]] from the ''infiltration'' of the Moon lead by Yuyuko... Which was a resounding success! Yuyuko infiltrated the Moon and... stole a bottle of sake from the Lunarians on Yukari's behalf? Now you're probably thinking "was stealing a bottle of sake ''really'' worth all that trouble?" Well, [[spoiler:considering that Yukari used that bottle of sake to [[BreakTheHaughty emotionally scar the Lunarian goddess of knowledge by putting the fear of the unknown in her]], which ultimately had been her objective all along,]] yes. And even beyond that... Yukari had the abilities and power to get this done in a number of ways. The reason she picked such a convoluted one? Everybody wins. And succeeds, which isn't the same thing. Every single person even tangentially related to Yukari's plot succeeds at their stated goals, succeeds at any hidden goals they had, and also comes out ahead. Pawns, servants, allies, rivals, opponents, people who Yukari hadn't yet met... ''everyone''. The average OmniscientMoralityLicense holder has more advantages and gets worse results.
** Moriya Suwako fits the bill as well. She looks and behaves like a CheerfulChild but is actually a PhysicalGoddess [[OlderThanTheyLook well over]] [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 2000 years old]]. It's been all but stated outright that her childishness is an act and her appearance might very well be a shape she has assumed to make her act more convincing.
* Guildmaster Wigglytuff in ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Time/Darkness'': a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who looks like a big pink bunny...and one who gives Team Skull a well-deserved beatdown.
* In the [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Sinnoh region]] of the main ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games, Dr. Footprint can essentially read Pokemon's minds. Some of the more slow or dumb Pokemon will express simple thoughts full of "hnurr" pauses - except when they suddenly share a complex and grammatically correct sentence or two about how people and other Pokemon assume that they don't think much because they don't speak up often. They don't seem annoyed or insulted though.
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** [[spoiler:Shuji Ikutsuki]] relies heavily on this to fool ''VideoGame/Persona3'''s protagonists into [[spoiler:bringing about the Fall for him.]] A harmless character known for [[spoiler:bad jokes]] becomes TheChessmaster in one fell swoop..
** ''VideoGame/Persona4'': [[spoiler:Adachi]] plays much the same role. People who have played ''VideoGame/Persona3'' will probably be instantly suspicious towards him because of it. However, it eventually plays like more of a subversion. While they do successfully obfuscate their real personality from others and are implied to be fairly intelligent, they mostly stumbled into the plot without any real planning or cunning on their part. In fact, their direct involvement is what ultimately gives them away. What they're really obfuscating is their morbid curiosity and sheer disregard for others, which they've twisted into believing is some sort of deep revelation.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5Scramble'', [[spoiler:Kuon Ichinose initially appears to be a ditzy professor with an endearing lack of social skills, who assists the Phantom Thieves in unearthing the conspiracy surrounding EMMA, an app she developed. Near the end, it's revealed that she was fully aware of and abetting EMMA's true agenda the entire time, and promptly turns against the Thieves so that they won't interfere. Her lack of social skills is not an endearing quirk, but an indicator of her crippling inability to relate with others, which causes her to label herself as a heartless monster.]]
* [[spoiler: Dark Adonis aka Midboss]] and [[spoiler: Seraph Lamington]] from ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''. The first appears to be a foppish {{Recurring Boss}} whose sole purpose in the story is to get his ass kicked by Laharl. The second appears to be a hands-off sort of boss content to just walk around his garden while his subordinate plans a coup to conquer reality. In the end, it turns out [[spoiler: Lamington was aware of everything all along. In addition, the entire game is essentially a SecretTestOfCharacter masterminded by Lamington and Midboss to make Laharl a great and compassionate Overlord. Midboss is [[strike: also heavily implied in the end to be]] the temporarily reincarnated form of Laharl's father the previous Overlord]].
* Asmodeus from ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'', an easy-going imp who followed Daniel around for most of the game only to reveal that [[spoiler: he was Lucifer himself, digging holes to allow demons into Purgatory from Hell]].

* Flay from ''VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlrevis'' has flunked the academy ''three times'', yet he is the one who plans almost all the hijinks that the TrueCompanions get into. ''And they work...'''sometimes'''...''
** He's smart enough to have [[spoiler:conquered half of the world in his ending]] at the very least.
* [[spoiler:Knox Harrington]] in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' first appears as a vampire's excitable, none-too-bright servant who's gotten in over his head while following a target and needs the player character's help. Turns out with the right questions and mental stats (or Malkavian insight) that [[spoiler:he's actually a competent former bounty hunter and his job all along was to get your character to go after the target]].
* [[spoiler:Florian Greenheart]] in ''VideoGame/OverlordII'' pulls this, acting like an [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Ineffectual Sympathetic]] HeroAntagonist when in truth [[spoiler:he's also Emperor Solarius, ruler of [[TheEmpire The Glorious Empire]]]]. He states that [[spoiler:he keeps up the Florian guise after becoming Solarius in order to subvert the efforts of Queen Fay and the Elven Sanctuary.]]
* Double from ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' is a portly rookie Maverick Hunter, who is shown falling over at times in the game's FMV. Despite his goofy appearance and clumsiness, [[spoiler:he is actually a fiercely powerful maverick in a fake body.]]
* ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'' has a recurring character - a drunk who shows up in virtually every level, acting like an idiot. He even somehow shows up on an enemy space station, presumably just for the gag...but a post-credit sequence reveals [[spoiler: that the idiot is actually the ''leader of HARM'', the evil organization, spying on you personally]]
* The main character of ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' has some decidedly ditzy dialogue options (especially: "What's 0+2?"), but generally seems to figure things out much faster than he lets on. He even gets called out on it in one of the MultipleEndings.
** It gets [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] earlier than that, too. In the game's prologue, during a brief meeting with Naoya, the main character has the option to guess that the Laplace Mail is predicting the future. Naoya is amazed -- not just because that's correct, but because it's a downright bizarre and even somewhat stupid conclusion to draw from the current evidence.
* In ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', after losing his eyes, Rahm Kota becomes so depressed that he spends all his time binge-drinking and claims that he has lost his connection to TheForce. It eventually proves that he is still a mighty Jedi Knight, [[spoiler: like when he steals ''Emperor Palpatine's '' lightsaber.]]
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', Xigbar shows every sign of being basically a surfer dude PunchClockVillain who just happens to be ThatOneBoss in the former. [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' reveals that he knows ''everything'' about what's going on, even more than the BigBad of the organization, Xemnas, and may have even been at least in part TheManBehindTheMan regarding Xemnas' more Xehanort-like actions]]. Heck isn't it turns out he isn't just any old man, he's the original wielder of Xehanort's Keyblade and its even implied that he played the old coot like a fiddle.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' takes it farther. The BigBad ''does'' know everything, and he ''still'' gets taken in by Xigbar's deceptions, as Xigbar pretends to just be a simple greedy gloryhound and in the process steers Xehanort towards his own ends.
* Played straight and averted in ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura''. In the Museum of Oddities in Tarant there is an exhibition of Gar, "world's most intelligent Orc". It turns out that [[spoiler: Gar is actually a full-bred Human with a strange mutation and just '''pretends''' to be stupid, because people wouldn't put up with an Orc smarter than themselves]].
* It's very debatable as to whether ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest''s Roger Wilco is a lucky IdiotHero or brighter than he looks and just very unmotivated. The BigBad of the sixth and final game muses about this and concludes it's some of both.
* Gaston in ''VideoGame/LuminousArc2'' is such a LargeHam his overacting gets questioned by other characters in the game on occasion, but has a very real, very sensible code of honor and duty to the Queen, and is a legitimately skilled Knight Commander, preferring to lead from the front line.

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' gives us Makoto Nanaya. On the surface, you have a girl who [[CuddleBug glomps whatever she finds cute]], [[BigEater eats way too much]] for a 49 kilo girl, climbs trees for exercise, tends to forget the NOL [[BadassCreed creed]], and acts like a FunPersonified {{womanchild}}. Beneath it all, however, she is surprisingly [[StreetSmart clever]] and adaptible - she attended the NOL Military Academy entirely on scholarship amongst a throng of noble jerks, and she proved dangerously competent as a spy within NOL Intelligence [[spoiler:[[DoubleAgent and Sector Seven]]]]. This, coupled with her desire to protect her friends, elevates her threat level to Hazama considerably - [[spoiler:as if finding a throng of rejected Noel / Saya copies in Ibukido wasn't enough, she [[SpannerInTheWorks unknowingly thwarted his plans in another timeline]], [[OutGambitted almost knowingly ruined them again in an alternate possibility of the main timeline]], and is an active detriment to his plans at large that aforementioned cleverness makes it a ''nightmare'' to plan around her.]] Of all the pieces in his [[CosmicChessGame chess game with Rachel and Jubei]], she's the one whom he will skip all other measures and kill on sight.

* In ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', there's an NPC near the Barrows Brothers who is only known as the Strange Old Man. Normally, he just acts like a useless idiot who won't tell you a damn thing. But during the quest "The Temple at Senntisten", the Strange Old Man becomes a lot more lucid, a lot more direct, and a lot less weird.
-->'''PlayerCharacter:''' But I thought you were just some mad old bloke with a spade obsession.\\
'''Strange Old Man:''' I do my best to look useless. If only others knew the truth, it would chill their hearts.
* Letho, the Kingslayer, from ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2''. He's a big, hulking [[DumbMuscle mountain of muscle who really doesn't look very smart]] and he uses this to his advantage like a true MagnificentBastard [[spoiler: as he manipulates the Scoia'tel and the Lodge of Sorceresses to aid him in slaying kings under the pretense that it would aid their own ends, when his actual goal is [[DividedWeFall to make the Northern kingdoms descend into chaos so the Nilfgaardian empire could easily invade them]]]]:
-->'''Sile de Tanserville''': Letho played us all! We were decieved by his dull face and sluggish stare.

* In VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsUX, Richard takes up a foreigner act and starts talking mixture of easy words from languages to pretend he's not a serious mercenary when he's on cover missions with Saya, Agnes is completely fooled by this and thinks they are comedians (comic story tellers).
* ''[[VideoGame/TearsToTiara2 Tears to Tiara 2]]'': [[TheHero Hamil]] pretends to be a dumb, unambitious youth lacking any sword skills, magic powers, or will to avenge his father or frees his people. He did this for seven years to prevent a rebellion by [[TheResistance the Barcid Party]] for as long as he could, and at the same time save up enough magic to give [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Melqart]] enough power to defeat [[TheEmpire the imperial army]] if the rebellion does occur. He throws off the disguise to save Tarte.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights''' ''Hordes of the Underdark'' expansion has an ogre mage who lives in Undermountain. He speaks very eloquently and has above-average intelligence, but enjoys playing up what he describes as 'the [[HulkSpeak "Me smash you good!"]] stereotype' of ogres when in combat because it makes his opponents underestimate him.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', Vanille is introduced as a carefree, optimistic, and naive girl who's a tragic victim of circumstance like the other four strangers she soon calls friends. But as events transpire, it's slowly revealed that Vanille is smarter than her new friends realize, and she knows more than she lets on. Vanille knows about what's happening more than them since [[spoiler:she's partly responsible for their lives being turned upside down]]. Pretending to be cheerful and clueless is part of her {{Stepford Smiler}} facade.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** Nowi from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' seems to be a ditzy, childish dragon girl and few more. But she's [[BadassAdorable pretty good at fighting]] and her childishness is at very least partially faked, as a part of her decision to [[WhoWantsToLiveForever handle how she wants to enjoy her immortal life]]. A pretty good example of this is [[spoiler: her being a TricksterMentor to her serious and bookish KidFromTheFuture Nah: knowing that her daughter doesn't take her seriously, Nowi pretends that she only wants to play with Nah, and helps her fix her fighting problems by training her through their "games"...]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', Female Kana is aware that people see her as a bit of a ditz and she sometimes uses it to her advantage. i.e, in her Supports with Dwyer she pretends to go along with his (very clearly bogus) martial arts training to get him to see that he's been acting like a jerk.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', Sylvain turns out to be pretty damn smart and practically good at everything with little effort during his supports with [[{{Workaholic}} Annette]]. But he intentionally pretends to be lazy and plays up his laid-back attitude because genuine work would lead to people putting higher and higher expectations on him, and he considers his issues [[BlessedWithSuck from having a Crest]] to be enough to deal with already. He does end up becoming more serious and not as obfuscating during the later portion of the game and his epilogues.
* ''Videogame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'': Marilyn Sue Dajie is a bubbly, ditzy, cheerful AnimeChineseGirl with few more than her [[{{Gainaxing}} huge boobs]] going for her at first sight. But make no mistake: this beautiful young woman is a very skilled DarkActionGirl, as well as determined enough to take risks that other [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triad members and assassins]] won't, in her desire to ascend into the Triad's hierarchies.
* Temmies from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' are an entire race of cheerful dolts named Temmie with terrible language skills (aside from [[OddNameOut Bob]]). The Temmie in [[spoiler: the shop]], however, will suddenly speak perfect, stern English if you anger her.
-->'''Temmie:''' Is this a joke? Are you having a chuckle? Ha ha, very funny. I'm the one with [[spoiler: the degree]].
** In a more plot-relevant way, [[spoiler: SANS.]] This character looks like its purpose is slapstick comic relief, seemingly anywhere to pull off another gag. But if you pay attention, the game drops hints that [[spoiler: he's a quantum physicist that can alter the timeline to appear in multiple places at once, secretly monitoring and judging the player's progress.]] However, despite knowing [[spoiler: the player is the anomaly that causes various timelines to branch apart and abruptly end, he's ultimately powerless. That's why he's lazy; he knows everything will just get reset again.]] And Lord help you if you [[spoiler: act so monstrously that he decides he has to care again.]]
-->'''[[spoiler: Sans]]''': [[spoiler: [[MemeticMutation do you wanna have a bad time?]] [[IWarnedYou because if you take one step closer,]] [[OhCrap you are REALLY]] [[CombatPragmatist not gonna]] [[InterfaceScrew like what]] [[BulletHell happens]] [[ThatOneBoss next.]]]]
* ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple'': Milton plays his cards close to his chest at first, not letting on his true level of intelligence for the first third or so of the game. For instance, if you ask him who Elohim is when you first boot him up, he simply parrots back the dictionary definition of the Hebrew word as a mindless AI would, though he knows perfectly well what you meant.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** The [[CatFolk Khajiit]] have a reputation for being rather simple (not helped by their cultural propensity toward [[FantasticDrug drug addiction]], their [[FantasticRacism bestial appearance]], being [[ThirdPersonPerson third-person people]], etc.) and often morally ambiguous (their [[LanguageEqualsThought language has no word for "rules"]] and they have a very loose view of what constitutes personal property). Despite this, they are as intelligent as any other race, and are known to play up the perceptions other races have for them as simple and unintelligent in order to take advantage of them. Cleverness is, after all, a virtue in their culture.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'':
*** Caius Cosades, Imperial {{Spymaster}} of the Blades in Morrowind and primary QuestGiver for the first act of the main quest, is doing this as part of his cover identity, along with PlayingDrunk. His cover identity is that of a poor [[FantasticDrug Skooma addict]].
*** Crassius Curio, one of the few [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Reasonable]] and [[HonestCorporateExecutive Honest]] councilors of [[ProudMerchantRace Great House Hlaalu]], a haven for {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s with several in the pocket of the [[TheSyndicate Camonna Tong]], is doing this as part of his GuileHero style plan to clean up the corruption within the House. He lets others believe that he is an easily manipulated fool (which isn't hard, given his LovableSexManiac and DirtyOldMan predilections) as he brings his plans together beneath their suspicion.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Skyborn}}'', [[GentlemanSnarker Sullivan Chesterford]] is introduced as a [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob rich fop]] who earns [[WrenchWench Claret's]] ire by being a poor pilot for his airship, forcing it to need repairs within a year. He proves himself [[StoneWall surprisingly competent]] [[RoyalRapier in a fight]] when he and [[GunsAkimbo Claret]] team up in the first battle of the game. This makes sense as he's [[spoiler: the [[SecretIdentity Red]] [[RebelLeader Spectre]]. His [[HalfHumanHybrid half-sister]]]] Jillian actually offers this as an explanation for his behavior:
-->'''Jillian''': He acts that way on purpose, silly! Deep down, he's actually a really thoughtful guy!
* While it's not the only possible way to win, playing as the Jester in ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' more often than not is carried out by acting as a new player who is a bad Executioner or Mafia role, when in reality they ''want'' to look and act suspicious to have town lynch them.
* While crawling through the vents as an alien in ''VideoGame/AliensVsPredator2'', you hear some Marines discussing how their technology will protect them from xenomorphs. They make it clear that they believe the xenomorphs are just beasts, incapable of intelligence. Bad news for them that you understand both their language, and their descriptions of technology - and figure out how it can be defeated by attacking a computer mainframe with, say, massive claws.
* [[spoiler:Professor Alba]] from ''VideoGame/TrailsInTheSky'' acts as a friendly but ditzy [[spoiler:archaeologist]] with the innocent motivation of [[spoiler:unearthing Liberl's true history. By the end of FC, however, it's revealed that he's [[TheDogWasTheMastermind been secretly manipulating the events of the game]] this entire time, using memory manipulation to keep anyone who might recognize him off his trail. His true identity is the 3rd Anguis of Ouroboros, Georg Weissmann, and he goes on to become the BigBad of SC, and the most conniving and ruthless character in the entire game.]]
* Played with in ''Videogame/WeHappyFew''. One memory has Percy lying to an angry woman that ''he'' was in a tree outside her daughter's bedroom window, while in reality it was his brother, Arthur. When Arthur later confronts him about this, Percy says that he took the blame because he's slow[[note]]Percy has an AmbiguousDisorder that would nowadays fall under the autism spectrum, but since Arthur and Percy grew up in the 1940's, his condition is left undiagnosed[[/note]] and would thus not be punished as harshly (since people would assume he was just being weird, instead of being a pervert).
* The Ultimis incarnation of Richtofen in ''Videogame/CallOfDutyZombies'' purposely acts as if he doesn't know what's going most of the time as a means of covering up [[spoiler: the fact that he's the BigBad]]. Lampshaded during the Shangri-La quest where Nikolai and Dempsey briefly bring it up.
** Primis Richtofen also tries playing dumb when asked by Dempsey about the Blood Vials, in an attempt to keep them a secret from Monty, however it doesn't last long as he eventually just tells Dempsey to stop talking about them.
* A journal entry from Anju's grandmother in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' implies that she is faking her senility in order to avoid having to eat Anju's terrible cooking.
-->"It was my granddaughter who cooked again today. Putting that to the lips shortens the life! I thought of a way to get by without eating. I'll try it tomorrow. I just hope I'm not caught."
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': Torneko. Hinted at in some of his party chats to play the fool both to boost his team's morale and to make other's suspect little of him. Considering how his goofing off always tends to do something good for the party, this may very well be true.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': Both Madchen and Tuppence suspect Dr. Agon is only pretending he is a weird and somewhat crazy helpless man. They are proven right when Dr. Agon reveals his real form: [[spoiler:the Zenithian Dragon]].
* In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', this trope is the summary of Edward "Blackbeard" Teach's character. Unlike his RealLife legacy of intimidation tactics and pyrotechnics, this version of Teach deliberately acts as a ComedicLolicon OccidentalOtaku to disgust his enemies and troll his allies, causing both sides to consistently underestimate him. In the pirate-infested Okeanos Singularity, he was even more foolish and perverted... to mask that he was [[spoiler: guarding a Holy Grail]] and [[ProperlyParanoid keeping one hand on his gun the whole time]].
-->'''Hektor:''' ''*(regarding Blackbeard)*'' A genius who acts like an idiot is much more dangerous than an idiot who acts like a genius.

*** In the new online comics series, it is show that when not being a mercenary, Pyro is a successful businessperson, being responsible for a company's "best quarter ever," thanks to their new CEO, Pyro. He still sees everything as a cartoon and still only hears gibberish, though.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5Scramble'', [[spoiler:Kuon Ichinose initially appears to be a ditzy professor with an endearing lack of social skills, who assists the Phantom Thieves in unearthing the conspiracy surrounding EMMA, an app she developed. Near the end, it's revealed that she was fully aware of and abetting EMMA's true agenda the entire time, and promptly turns against the Thieves so that they won't interfere. Her lack of social skills is not an endearing quirk, but an indicator of her crippling inability to relate with others, which causes her to label herself as a heartless monster.]]

* ''Videogame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'': Marilyn Sue Dae Jie is a bubbly, ditzy, cheerful AnimeChineseGirl with few more than her [[{{Gainaxing}} huge boobs]] going for her at first sight. But make no mistake: this beautiful young woman is a very skilled DarkActionGirl, as well as determined enough to take risks that other [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triad members and assassins]] won't, in her desire to ascend into the Triads's hierarchies.

** A certain character in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3'':

** Dante himself plays into this a lot. He seems like an overly carefree and fun loving idiot, but in reality is a cunning warrior that can go toe to toe with eldritch abominations, can identify flaws in his opponents, and managed to fully purchase his own shop by the time he was 18. He's also shown to have enough of a knowledge of Shakespeare that he can use quotes from Hamlet in the appropriate situation.

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' gives us Makoto Nanaya. On the surface, you have a girl who {{glomp}}s whatever she finds cute, [[BigEater eats way too much]] for a 49 kilo girl, climbs trees for exercise, tends to forget the NOL [[BadassCreed creed]], and acts like a FunPersonified {{womanchild}}. Beneath it all, however, she is surprisingly [[StreetSmart clever]] and adaptible - she attended the NOL Military Academy entirely on scholarship amongst a throng of noble jerks, and she proved dangerously competent as a spy within NOL Intelligence [[spoiler:[[DoubleAgent and Sector Seven]]]]. This, coupled with her desire to protect her friends, elevates her threat level to Hazama considerably - [[spoiler:as if finding a throng of rejected Noel / Saya copies in Ibukido wasn't enough, she [[SpannerInTheWorks unknowingly thwarted his plans in another timeline]], [[OutGambitted almost knowingly ruined them again in an alternate possibility of the main timeline]], and is an active detriment to his plans at large that aforementioned cleverness makes it a ''nightmare'' to plan around her.]] Of all the pieces in his [[CosmicChessGame chess game with Rachel and Jubei]], she's the one whom he will skip all other measures and kill on sight.

* [[spoiler:Professor Alba]] from ''VideoGame/TrailsInTheSky'' acts as a friendly but ditzy [[spoiler:archaeologist]] with the innocent motivation of [[spoiler:unearthing Liberl's true history. By the end of FC, however, it's revealed that he's [[TheDogWasTheMastermind been secretly manipulating the events of the game]] this entire time, using memory manipulation to keep anyone who might recognize him off his trail. His true identity is the Ouroboros Anguis Georg Weissmann, and he goes on to become the BigBad of SC, and the most conniving and ruthless character in the entire game.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Persona5Scramble'', [[spoiler:Kuon Ichinose initially appears to be a ditzy professor with an endearing lack of social skills, who assists the Phantom Thieves in unearthing the conspiracy surrounding EMMA, an app she developed. Near the end, it's revealed that she was fully aware of and abetting EMMA's true agenda the entire time, and promptly turns against the Thieves so that they won't interfere. Her lack of social skills is not an endearing quirk, but an indicator of her crippling inability to relate with others, whih causes her to label herself as a heartless monster.]]

* [[spoiler:Professor Alba]] from ''VideoGame/TrailsInTheSky'' acts as a friendly but ditzy [[spoiler:archaeologist]] with the innocent motivation of [[spoiler:unearthing Liberl's true history. By the end of FC, however, it's revealed that he's [[TheDogWasTheMastermind been secretly manipulating the events of the game]] this entire time, using memory manipulation to keep anyone who might recognize him off his trail. His true identity, Georg Weismann, goes on to become the BigBad of SC, and the most conniving and ruthless character in the entire game.]]

* [[spoiler:Professor Alba]] from ''VideoGame/TrailsInTheSky'' acts as a friendly but ditzy [[spoiler:archaeologist]] with the innocent motivation of [[spoiler:unearthing Liberl's true history. By the end of FC, however, it's revealed that he's [[TheDogWasTheMastermind been manipulating the events if the game from behind-the-scenes]] this entire time, using memory manipulation to keep anyone who might recognize him off his trail. His true identity, Georg Weismann, goes on to become the BigBad of SC, and the most conniving and ruthless character in the entire game.]]

-->'''PlayerCharacter:''' But I thought you were just some mad old bloke with a spade obsession.
-->'''Strange Old Man:''' I do my best to look useless. If only others knew the truth, it would chill their hearts.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': Torneko. Hinted at in some of his party chats to play the fool both to boost his team's morale and to make other's suspect little of him. Considering how his goofing off always tends to do something good for the party, this may very well be true.

* In ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', there's an NPC near the Barrows Brothers who is only known as the Strange Old Man. Normally, he just acts like a useless idiot who won't tell you a damn thing. But during the quest "The Temple at Senntisten, the Strange Old Man becomes a lot more lucid, a lot more direct, and a lot less weird.

* A certain character in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3'':
-->[[spoiler:'''Arkham:''' ''You failed, Vergil, because you underestimated humans''\]]
** And this little gem hammers it in:
--->[[spoiler:'''Jester/Arkham:''']] ''I even went so far as to dress up like a complete idiot!!''

* A journal entry from Anju's grandmother in ''VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaMajorasMask'' implies that she is faking her senility in order to avoid having to eat Anju's terrible cooking.

--->"It was my granddaughter who cooked again today. Putting that to the lips shortens the life! I thought of a way to get by without eating. I'll try it tomorrow. I just hope I'm not caught."

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'':

* In ''{{Skyborn}}'', [[GentlemanSnarker Sullivan Chesterford]] is introduced as a [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob rich fop]] who earns [[WrenchWench Claret's]] ire by being a poor pilot for his airship, forcing it to need repairs within a year. He proves himself [[StoneWall surprisingly competent]] [[RoyalRapier in a fight]] when he and [[GunsAkimbo Claret]] team up in the first battle of the game. This makes sense as he's [[spoiler: the [[SecretIdentity Red]] [[RebelLeader Spectre]]. His [[HalfHumanHybrid half-sister]]]] Jillian actually offers this as an explanation for his behavior:

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' has a number of these characters, to the point where your average ditz nearly always is smarter than they look.
** In the original game, [[spoiler:the supposedly beyond-senile Yanni Yogi (a ShoutOut to [[Anime/YuGiOh Yami Yugi]]) faked permanent brain damage for fifteen years before trying to exact revenge and get away with it.]]
** Case 5, in the DS remake, has [[spoiler: Police Chief Gant. His guise of a lovable, laughing buffoon hides not only a razor-sharp mind, but his true personality of a ruthless genius willing to kill one of his own officers, and blackmail another by framing her sister, in order to put away a serial killer.]]
** In ''Justice For All'', [[spoiler: Ini Miney from case 2 and Matt Engarde from case 4 are both smarter (and more sinister) than they appear to be at first glance.]]
** In ''Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney'', [[spoiler: Phoenix Wright himself shows a bit of this trope.]]
** Also in ''Apollo Justice'', Lamiroir, at first, seems like she doesn't speak a word of English, but quickly drops this act when matters start becoming more serious (though this seems to be more of a case of obfuscating ignorance). [[spoiler:A bigger twist is when it's revealed that her partner, Machi, also knows English (though he isn't very fluent in it), and had been hiding it from everyone, including his own partner and lawyer.]]
** [[spoiler: Dahlia Hawthorne]] from ''Trials and Tribulations''. [[spoiler: a VERY devious girl who [[BitchInSheepsClothing hides her true self behind a sugary sweet personality]], and not once, not twice, but ''thrice'' in the game. And bear in mind she's ''dead'' by the third encounter.]]
** Done in ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' with [[spoiler: the ditzy bubble-blowing Cammy Meale, the jovial Ernest Amano, and the elderly Quercus Alba. They're all murderers or accessories to murders, and all work in the same smuggling ring.]] Since veteran players of the series will know to look for the trope, the game even plays with your head a little with [[spoiler: the delightful, energetic, and oblivious Colias Palaeno--who never even comes under suspicion.]]
** And in the sequel, ''Gyakuten Kenji 2'' (AKA ''Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path'') we have [[spoiler:Sōta Sarushiro (Simon Keyes in the English FanTranslation), a shy and meek individual Edgeworth defends in the second case. In the climax, TheReveal kicks in and it turns out he's actually the brilliant and cruel mastermind behind the main events of the game.]]
** From ''Dual Destinies'' we have [[spoiler:detective Fulbright (aptly nicknamed Fool Bright by prosecutor Blackquill). For most of the game he looks like a regular detective who strongly believes in justice, [[LargeHam and makes sure you know it]]. It turns out he is actually a spy who killed the real Fulbright, Metis Cykes (Athena's mother) and Clay Terran. He can also hide and pretend emotions (almost) perfectly. [[ExactWords To a fault]], even.]]

* Letho, the Kingslayer, from ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2''. He's a big, hulking [[DumbMuscle mountain of muscle who really doesn't look very smart]] and he uses this to his advantage like a true MagnificentBastard [[spoiler: as he manipulates the Scoia'tel and the Lodge of Sorceresses to aid him in slaying kings under the pretense that it would aid their own ends, when his actual goal is to make the Northern kingdoms descend into chaos so the Nilfgaardian empire could easily invade them]]:

* While crawling through the vents as an alien in Aliens vs. Predator 2, you hear some Marines discussing how their technology will protect them from xenomorphs. They make it clear that they believe the xenomorphs are just beasts, incapable of intelligence. Bad news for them that you understand both their language, and their descriptions of technology - and figure out how it can be defeated by attacking a computer mainframe with, say, massive claws.