History BreakingTheFourthWall / VideoGames

* In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', the audience participates in "Scarecrow" sequences in which Scarecrow injects Batman with terror gas that makes him see things. In one of these sequences, the audience is confronted with the screen that appears upon an in-game death, only to find out that it is part of the Scarecrow sequence. Hell, it looks like ''the game crashes.'' Scarecrow went from screwing with Batman to screwing with ''the player.''

* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} carries over his habit of breaking the fourth wall into ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'':
** When he's knocked out, he yells out "YOU PRESSED THE WRONG BUTTON!", referring to the player controlling Deadpool.
** Upon winning, he'll scold the player for sitting on the couch and being lazy while he has to do all the fighting. He asks if the player was recording the fight and chastises him for not doing so.
** His Level 3 Hyper Combo has him assume a girlish pose and do a SupermodelStrut toward his opponent with a [[PinkIsErotic pink aura]] and [[HeartSymbol hearts surrounding him]] for a few seconds. If he is attacked in this state, he'll launch a CounterAttack where he'll jump up, grab his health bar, and whack his opponent in the head. He then grabs his Super Meter, winds up, and knocks his opponent sky-high.
** He shouts "Hey I freaking love Street Fighter! Autograph your spleen for me?" if he is on point against a Street Fighter character (Ryu, Akuma, Chun-Li and C.Viper). If landing the killing blow against one of these, he will say : "I get the cover of the next Street Fighter for this, right Capcom? Right!?"
** In his ending, he says, "I'd invite you to party with me, but you'll just have to make do with the points you got for beating the game." He then accidentally destroys a city, causing the cops to put out an APB for him and his accomplice, "The Player."
%% * And now, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} has [[VideoGame/{{Deadpool}} a game of his own]]. A moment of silence for our dear friend, the Fourth Wall...

* The ''ComicBook/XMen'' game for the Platform/SegaGenesis asked the player to "Reset the Computer" to finish the Danger Room level. With no in-game switches or controls to operate, usually the player would be stumped... as it turned out, it meant resetting the game console itself.
* In ''VideoGame/XMenLegends II: Rise of Apocalypse'', every character has a couple of lines when they're idle for too long, and several are directed at the player, like Bishop's "Hey you! Yeah, you! What are you doing that's so much more important than this?"

** While building a communicator in the second game, Crypto sings a bit of "The leg bone's connected to the thigh bone" (with more appropriate lyrics) before telling us "I'm not singing the song. I got standards. They may not be high, but I've got them. Besides, we couldn't get the rights." One of the the things {{NPC}}s say when they see you is "You were taller in the first game!"

* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderII'' ended with a wink at the [[UrbanLegendOfZelda nude raider]] cheat rumors, with Lara about to undress for a shower, then turning to the screen and saying "Don't you think you've seen enough?" before [[CameraAbuse blowing away the "camera"]] with a shotgun.

* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderII'' ended with a wink at the [[UrbanLegendOfZelda nude raider]] cheat rumors, with Lara about to undress for a shower, then turning to the screen and saying "Don't you think you've seen enough?" before [[CameraAbuse blowing away the "camera"]] with a shotgun.

** The final boss of ''VideoGame/BravelySecond'' even goes so far as to try and delete your save files, only for the characters to tell you never to give up.

** In ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', if Guybrush asks a dart player in the SCUMM Bar to try and hit "that guy over there", the dart player will end up throwing a dart at the ''player'' and apparently putting a hole in the monitor. Another example of literally BreakingTheFourthWall.

** ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'': The TV adaptation is

* ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'': Some of the Grunt dialogue either leans on or outright breaks the fourth wall. You can hear a Grunt [[DiegeticSoundtrackUsage humming]] the ''Halo'' theme before complaining about how they "hate that song." In another bit of dialogue, they comment on ''Halo''[='=]s SequelNumberSnarl; in another, they theorize that Master Chief is psychic and (in a ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'') propose switching the controller to Player 2 to defeat him, only to be foiled because the UsefulNotes/XboxOne has wireless controllers.

* The ''ComicBook/XMen'' game for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis asked the player to "Reset the Computer" to finish the Danger Room level. With no in-game switches or controls to operate, usually the player would be stumped... as it turned out, it meant resetting the game console itself.

** There's quite a bit of meta-humor in the BonusBoss fight [[spoiler:against Mami and Hasebe, with]] Kyoko and Misako wondering why the normal FinalBoss isn't there, and [[spoiler:Mami and Hasebe pointing out that Kyoko and Misako's previous game was one that never left Japan (at least until the remake in 2022, which takes the form of the girls actually playing the game)]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', you encounter a man at a spaceport who is telling listeners that they are in a video game and that most of them only have a limited amount of dialog they can say. This is, of course, the only thing he can actually say. One of the listeners, when spoken to, will refute the speaker's claims by saying he certainly had more than one thing that he can say. Again, this is the only thing he can actually say.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. If you stand idle with Mordecai he will say "Now that you mention it i do love standing here doing nothing."

---> "You know, studies show that games with monkeys in them [[SillySimian are 30% more fun]]."
---> "[[DoNotAdjustYourSet Do not adjust your set.]] I think this is supposed to happen."

* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'': Whenever you have a conversation with Squid Baron and his fear of becoming [[spoiler: a filler boss]].

* ''VideoGame/AlteredBeast'' has us believe the characters are [[spoiler:making a movie]].

* ''VideoGame/CellToSingularityEvolutionNeverEnds'' tarts to mention that you're playing it eventually, with the Information Age being described as "The age you're playing this game in. This game is possible because of this age.", Video Games stating "You're playing one right now!", and Game Engine stating "This game was made in one of these."

** In ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'', if you enter the Roost at a certain time, you get to talk with him. He'll have a few rants about things, but [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/animalcrossing/images/c/c6/Ah_Mr._Resetti_being_calm.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20220820064225 if he talks about coffee]], '''''[[HairTriggerTemper EXPECT]]''''' [[BerserkButton Mr. Resetti to get mad]]. Made much more worse as he is '''''[[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/animalcrossing/images/0/09/YIKES%21%21%21.jpg STARING ANGRILY RIGHT AT YOU]].'''''

** In ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'', if you enter the Roost at a certain time, you get to talk with him. He'll have a few rants about things, but [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/animalcrossing/images/c/c6/Ah_Mr._Resetti_being_calm.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20220820064225 if he talks about coffee]], '''''[[HairTriggerTemper EXPECT]]''''' [[BerserkButton Mr. Resetti to get mad]]. Made much more worse as he is '''''[[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/animalcrossing/images/0/09/YIKES%21%21%21.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20220820064527 STARING ANGRILY RIGHT AT YOU]].'''''

*** Near the end, when [=LeChuck=] has Guybrush locked on the cable car carriage, You can make Guybrush beg [=LeChuck=] not to kill him. When [=LeChuck=] asks why not, Guybrush can say, "Because there'll be no more Monkey Island sequels. Not more sequels means no more work for you. You'll become just another has-been who nobody's heard of." "Oh, that can't happen to me! I'm [=LeChuck=]!" "Ever heard the name [[VideoGame/Loom Bobbin Threadbare]]?" "Um, no?" "Exactly."

* While the fourth wall in ''VideoGame/{{Contact}}'' is pretty much swiss-cheesed by the end of the game, the ultimate in fourth-wall-breaking comes at the very end, when [[spoiler: the player's character gets fed up with being manipulated and actually attacks you, the player, through the DS's screen.]]

* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' has one in the rantings of the increasingly insane [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Nolan Stross]], whom in his paranoid ramblings mentions "him watching".

* In ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans'', at the opening choice options screen on the mothership, if you fail to make a decision and leave the screen idle, Pox will sometimes say a random thing to you relating to the situation (i.e., "Well, it's your electric bill. You could have thought to turn the console off. Haven't you ever heard of global warming?" or "May I remind you that the name of this game is "Destroy All Humans", not SCREW AROUND IN THE MOTHERSHIP!").
** While building a communicator in ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans 2'', Crypto sings a bit of "The leg bone's connected to the thigh bone" (with more appropriate lyrics) before telling us "I'm not singing the song. I got standards. They may not be high, but I've got them. Besides, we couldn't get the rights." One of the the things {{NPC}}s say when they see you is "You were taller in the first game!"

* ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'' has many of these, one is pointed out by the main character when one random NPC says that there are multiple endings available by responding "You aren't even trying any more are you?"
** The ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series [[NoFourthWall barely has a fourth wall to begin with]]. Characters are fully aware of their stats and levels, different [=NPCs=] try to steal the "main character" spot, and there's surprise when a {{Superboss}} from an earlier game turns out to have a role in the main quest. Why, yes, the one Laharl couldn't believe was level four thousand.

** This entire game, the characters speak directly to you, as their creator. You also have to touch things that will affect the game (usually on request to you, the creator).

** "Ever get the feeling someone's playing games with you?" "All the time."

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', one of the dancers invites various {{NPC}}s from the crowd to dance with her, and ends with in invitation to "You there in front of the screen, you too."

** Gilgamesh does this in his DLC battle in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII-2''. "I was starting to worry you'd never download this part of the game, and I'd be stuck in digital limbo!"
*** And there's also the secret ending [[spoiler: where [[BigBad Caius Ballad]] breaks the fourth wall to mock the player for trying to find a way to stop him and prevent the game's DownerEnding.]]
** [[MonsterClown Kefka]] does this in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''. When a fellow villain asks him why he doesn't just ambush his rival and kill her without theatrics, he answers: "''[[ForTheEvulz I wanna have some fun]]! After all, she's a -- '''good old friend of mine'''. [[EvilLaugh Mwhehehe!]]''" At the last part, he turns to look directly through the fourth wall, giving the players a knowing gaze since both they and he know about the events of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' where he met her before.
*** ''TECHNICALLY'', Kefka sorta does it during his EX-burst. Right before the part where the player has to memorize a* three-button sequence, he tells his opponent, and quite possibly you, to "Watch this."
** Sometimes he will hum the victory fanfare when he wins too.
*** In ''Duocedim'', Gilgamesh does this when he initiates his ex-burst, starting with a spinning slash and '''LITERALLY''' breaking the fourth wall, with his face, specifically.
*** Also in ''Duodecim'', Feral Chaos' EX Burst ends with him delivering a punch with so much force, it appears to turn off your PSP's screen as if it were a television.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' and the All-Stars remake of ''Super Mario Bros'', Mario and Luigi will turn to give you the V-sign every time you complete a level.
*** Also, in the Game Boy Advance remake of the game, Luigi gets a hilarious break. If you beat the fifth castle as Luigi, he will go through with attempting to detonate the place, and nothing will happen. He will then walk up to the castle, wondering what's wrong, and have it explode in his face. Normally, he would just have a dumbstruck face, but instead, he looks at the camera with a deadpan expression, as if to say, "Really, player?"
** One of the rewards for collecting all 120 stars in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' is altered dialogue after the final Bowser battle in which he tells Mario to "keep that Control Stick smokin'" until the next time they meet.
*** The DS remake, being on a system with no control stick, has Bowser telling you to keep the Touch Screen smoking instead.
** At one point in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', Professor Frankly tells players to pay attention to his explanation. Also, in another part, "Four-Eyes" warns us not to reveal his real identity ([[spoiler:Lord Crump]]) to Mario, even though he ''himself'' admits that it's probably [[PaperThinDisguise pretty obvious to us who he really is]].

** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' has a scene where Bowser is launched into the air, and lands on the "monitor" of the Game Boy Advance, leaving cracks and sliding off.
*** This gag is repeated in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'', with a fountain flying high and smashing into the screen. (Bonus points for being in 3D.)

* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'''s BizarroUniverse, Another Day, speaking to Joshua in [[spoiler: Udagawa]] results in him practically addressing the player with remarks about why the sprites for the main female protagonist remain the same, despite the fact that [[spoiler: in the main storyline, she's in her friend's body]].

*** "Tutorial box out."
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' taps this one with one of their jokes generated by a human female character using the /silly command. "Do you ever feel like you're not in charge of your own destiny, like... you're being controlled by an invisible hand?"

*** Apparently the folks at Blizzard really like this trope. They actually break it with these two by a Blood Elf female. "Do you think the expansion will make me fat?" and "I'm the girl the [[MoralGuardians ESRB]] warned you about."
*** There is also one of the tips that appears when logging into the game: ''Bring all your friends to Azeroth, but don't remember to spend time outside Azeroth with them too!''
*** Try clicking on a unit you select in ''Warcraft III'' multiple times after hearing the whole speech. For example, you can hear the Human Sorceress saying "Click me baby, one more time.".
*** Units also often bring up the mini-map if poked long enough.
*** An Elven priest is known for saying "I have been chosen by the big metal hand in the sky!" This references the cursor on the screen, which is an armored gauntlet.
*** The biggest one is probably the Crypt Lord, a big-ass spider: "And they say Blizzard games don't have bugs!"
** Nearly all Blizzard games use this trope in pretty much the same way. In the ''Warcraft'' games, clicking on certain unit types repeatedly results in the unit ordering the player to "StopPokingMe!". In the ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' series, each unit type and character has a short dialog that is triggered by repeated clicking. Most of them stay in character, talking about themselves and their missions; while others break the fourth wall to talk to the character, usually expressing frustration at being constantly harassed by the player, or opinions about how bored the player must be to keep wasting his time like that. A few use [[ShoutOut quotes from various other pop-culture sources]] -- for example, the Terran drop-ship pilot uses quotes from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', and the German-accented Terran Valkyrie pilot references the "Frau Blücher" running gag from ''Film/YoungFrankenstein''. Protoss character Artanis quotes the "Stop poking me!" line from ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''. Although the Zerg have no dialog as such, repeatedly clicking on them results in a number of different noises not normally used during play.

*** There0s the microgame "High-Speed Chase", where, upon failure to outrun the object chasing Wario, Wario flies up to the screen, causing it to crack.
*** Orbulon asks the player to take over during the intro of his stage when the Alien Bunny fails to rub hard enough

*** Near the end, when [=LeChuck=] has Guybrush locked on the cable car carriage, You can make Guybrush beg [=LeChuck=] not to kill him. When [=LeChuck=] asks why not, Guybrush can say, "Because there'll be no more Monkey Island sequels. Not more sequels means no more work for you. You'll become just another has-been who nobody's heard of." "Oh, that can't happen to me! I'm [=LeChuck=]!" "Ever heard the name Bobbin Threadbare?" "Um, no?" "Exactly."

* ''VideoGame/ArTonelico3'' does this a couple times in the storyline, but frequently in the synthesis chats. "Play more [=JRPGs=]!"

** "All the world's a stage, and all the species are merely players. You are a player, are you not?" -> Neutral greeting, including a near-quote from ''As You Like It'' by WilliamShakespeare.
** "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/Stellaris/comments/88a12p/dont_break_the_fourth_wall/ Don't break the fourth wall, you clever child you.]]" -> Neutral greeting. Possible refrence to Clara Oswald from DoctorWho.

* ''VideoGame/EatLeadTheReturnOfMattHazard''. The whole game breaks the fourth wall on a number of [[IncrediblyLamePun levels]]. The concept itself does away with the idea of even having a fourth wall. It's about a washed up, self-aware video game character trying to make a comeback for a new game generation, only to find out that someone on the development team wants him dead. They even ''deleted his saves''.