The term "fourth wall" originated with theatre, with the fourth wall being the side of the stage that the audience is sitting in, which the actors pretend that they can't see. Subsequently, the term "breaking the fourth wall" refers to when actors look or speak directly to the audience.
The term has since become common in all works of fiction, including films, books, and video games. Fourth wall breaks are always a risk, as they can shatter the audience's immersion in a way that frustrates them. However, when a fourth wall break is done right, it can create a memorable moment that fans will remember for years.
8 Doki Doki Literature Club - Monika Deletes Characters
If someone was to browse through Steam and come across Doki Doki Literature Club, they would likely assume that the game was just a generic Japanese visual novel. This mindset probably wouldn't change after booting up the game either, as it initially appears to be one of the genre's many romance games where the player needs to win the affection of a character.
However, it will soon become clear that Doki Doki Literature Club is far more sinister than it first appeared and will eventually descend into a terrifying horror experience. One of the game's most memorable moments of horror relates to Monika, who becomes aware that she is a video game character. In an attempt to win the player's affection, she begins to take drastic measures by messing with the player's PC files and deleting other characters from the game.
7 Conker’s Bad Fur Day - Blackmailing The Software Engineers
Conker's Bad Fury Day is a platforming game that was originally released in 2001 by Rare. The game differentiated itself from the many other platformers at the time with its adult brand of humor and constant fourth wall breaks.
One of the most memorable fourth wall breaks comes during a boss fight, where everything in the game seemingly freezes apart from Conker. Ever the opportunist, Conker speaks to the game's software engineers and promises not to tell anyone about the technical issues in exchange for weapons.
6 Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge - LucasArts Helpline
During the 1990s, point and click adventures games had a huge presence in PC gaming. LucasArts were one of the genre's leading figures, having released classic games like Grim Fandango, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and the Monkey Island series.
LucasArts' point and click games became known for two things in particular: their humorous, well-written narratives and their infuriatingly difficult puzzles. At a time when players couldn't simply hop onto YouTube to watch a walkthrough, LucasArts decided to profit from their tough puzzles with a helpline, which players could call for puzzle solutions at a cost. This helpline is featured in Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge when Guybrush Threepwood gets lost in the jungle and it even references the infamous stump joke from the previous game.
5 Batman: Arkham Asylum - Scarecrow's Fear Gas
Batman: Arkham Asylum kicked off the critically acclaimed Arkham series in style, setting the tone for both the excellent gameplay and dark tones in the story. Some of the game's most unsettling moments come courtesy of Scarecrow, who constantly messes with Batman's mind by using his signature fear gas. Unfortunately, it's not just Batman that Scarecrow messes with, as the villain also finds a way to disturb the player.
While walking down an inconspicuous hallway, the game will appear to have some form of technical issue before seemingly restarting and playing the opening cutscene again, worrying players that their game may be broken.
However, it soon becomes clear that all isn't as it seems, as the cutscene sees Batman and Joker swap places. If that wasn't bizarre enough, Joker then shoots Batman, and a game over screen appears displaying the message "use the middle stick to dodge Joker's gunfire."
4 The Stanley Parable - Broom Closet
Like many games on this list, The Stanley Parable breaks the fourth wall on numerous occasions. One of the most memorable times comes early on in the game if the player decides to wander into a broom closet. The narrator quickly tries to deter the player from entering the closet, saying, "Stanley stepped into the broom closet, but there was nothing here, so he turned around at got back on track."
If the player refuses to leave, the narrator will be baffled, saying things like, "please offer me some explanation here; I'm genuinely confused." The narrator will then believe that the player must have died and will call out, "Hello!? Anyone who happens to be nearby!! The person at this computer is dead!!"
3 Undertale - Sans Explains EXP and LV
Undertale is an RPG that constantly breaks the fourth wall by tackling traditional tropes of the genre, such as how some characters are offended if the player skips their dialogue box before they've finished speaking. One of the game's most notable cases of this comes from a conversation with Sans, where the character explains what EXP and LV actually stand for.
Sans explains that they stand for "execution points" and "level of violence," making players question the moral implications of the choices they made throughout the game.
2 Spec Ops: The Line - Loading Screens
Spec Ops: The Line was released in June 2012 and was initially perceived as yet another shooter trying to cash in on the Call of Duty hype. Although the gameplay was fairly middle of the road, it soon became clear that Spec Ops: The Line had far more substance to it than it first appeared. The game challenged the perception of war in video games by replacing the typical "good guys vs. bad guys" motif with a morally ambiguous story relating to the horrors of war.
There are many ways in which the game forces the player to question what they're doing, including fourth-wall breaking messages displayed in loading screens. Messages include:
• "If you were a better person, you wouldn't be here."
• "To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless."
• "The US military does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn't real, so why should you care?"
1 Metal Gear Solid - Psycho Mantis Boss Battle
1998's Metal Gear Solid has one of the most famous bosses in all of gaming history, Psycho Mantis. The game displays Psycho Mantis' psychic powers in ways that intend to unsettle the player, such as by turning their screen black, and mentioning if the player has played other Konami games, saying things like "you like Castlevania, don't you?"
During the boss fight, Psycho Mantis will say that he can read Snake's mind and seemingly be impossible to beat. To defeat him, players need to unplug their controller and insert it into another port, which will prevent the boss from being able to read Snake's mind.