Being an iconic video game character isn't all glitz and glam, winning popularity polls, and making the most merchandise sales; sometimes it means being the butt of every meme. As much as fans love sympathizing with their favorite characters through all the roughest moments of their journey together, it's apparently even more fun to poke fun at their misery instead.
Meme culture is wild and unpredictable and sometimes, one man's agony can be another man's laughter. Here are some of the most famous gaming memes, born from the pain and suffering of some of the most beloved video game characters.
Slight spoilers ahead!
8 Hold Guards (Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim): "Until I took An Arrow To The Knee!"
Right next to "fus ro dah", "taking an arrow to the knee" has been one of the most iconic memes to come out of 2011's Skyrim. This meme originated from the many guards in each hold of Skyrim. One of their many idle lines of dialogue involves them mentioning "taking an arrow to the knee" which ended up being a hilarious quote from the game that fans meme about all the time.
This seemingly widespread phenomenon of former adventurers getting struck by a stray arrow and their lives getting reduced to mundane patrol routes is rather sad when given a second thought. Still, apparently, the Skyrim community thought the story was prime meme material.
7 Humanoid (Roblox): "OOF"
Every death of a Roblox Humanoid character results in a sound that no one could have ever predicted would become as popular as it did. The "oof" sound effect, being part of both meme videos and soundtrack remixes is one of the most used sound effects around the internet. The simple audio clip is so iconic and widespread that it has reached audiences outside the gaming community.
Poor Roblox characters essentially have the internet laughing at their death. However, as of July 2022, the famous "oof" has officially been replaced. Hopefully, the tormented Roblox citizens will finally be able to rest easy now.
6 Ethan Winters (Resident Evil 7-8): Lend Ethan A Hand
Ethan's introduction into the series was a big curveball for Resident Evil fans, but eventually, the fandom warmed up to the newest protagonist, and for his big welcome, fans prepared a ton of memes at his expense. One of the biggest running gags throughout Resident Evil 7 and 8 is the poor, poor state of Ethan's hands.
Ethan's ability to regenerate/reattach his limbs is a major part of the story, so of course, the game's story needs a handful (no pun intended) of opportunities for Ethan to show off his mold-based powers. Since then, poor Ethan's hand-based trauma has been turned into the butt of many jokes within the RE community. At least Ethan can still reattach his hands after giving everyone a good laugh!
5 Paimon (Genshin Impact): Emergency Food
Poor Paimon can't seem to catch a break. Genshin Impact's iconic mascot immediately made a rather strong first impression due to a single line of dialogue the player can choose to say early into the game. At one point, the player can choose to make a little quip, introducing Paimon as their "emergency food" and from that point on, the Genshin fandom had birthed their first ever meme.
Ever since that famous line, Paimon has been subjected to a ton of (playful) bullying and is the star of a handful of food-related memes. There are tons of delicious food found all over Teyvat, surely the Traveler doesn't need to resort to something so gruesome!
4 Ethan Mars (Heavy Rain): Press X To Jason
Usually, poking fun at a poor, panicked man who has just lost track of his son in the middle of a busy mall would be in bad taste. However, when it comes to Ethan Mars of Heavy Rain, the internet didn't bother trying to hold back.
The game opens with Ethan at the mall for a fun family day, but things go wrong when his son Jason wanders off on his own. While the actual situation wasn't funny, it was the "X to Jason" prompt that made it perfect meme material. Not only that, but the distressed delivery of Ethan's desperate cries for his son just made spamming the button that much more hilarious.
3 The Chosen Undead (Dark Souls): YOU DIED
The titular Dark Souls "You Died" end screen is so incredibly embedded into internet meme culture that it has likely reached audiences that don't even know about the meme's origins! In any hilarious video, video game related or not, a quick fade to black would not be a complete ending without the deep bell chimes of the Dark Souls game over screen.
Watch just about any funny video of a cute animal attacking the camera or someone completely inebriated falling flat on their face and chances are, they end with the Dark Souls end screen. Hopefully the meme doesn't cause any long-time Dark Souls fans get horrific flashbacks to any frustrating boss fights.
2 Jack Mitchell (Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare): Press F To Pay Respects
It's important to note that this meme had absolutely nothing to do with the actual circumstances and everything to do with the barrier that video games are still faced with when it comes to achieving a full level of immersion. In one of the early scenes in Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Jack Mitchell attends his best friend's funeral. As the cutscene progresses, the player gets a moment to walk up to casket, and up comes a silly prompt that breaks any sympathy the player may have had just moments ago.
Since then, poor Jack's grief has been turned into a meme, having comments or chat spamming "f" any time they wish to express their sympathetic regards.
1 Kazuhira Miller (Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain): "Why Are We Still Here? Just To Suffer..."
Kaz's infamous "just to suffer" monologue in Metal Gear Solid 5 was an incredibly moving and heartbreaking moment for him...just for the internet to run in and make it a joke. When poor Kaz had made that speech, he had just been rescued from being held prisoner and getting both his arm and leg cut off. He goes on to talk about being able to feel his phantom limbs and the pain of his fallen comrades. For many MGS fans, it was difficult to see Master Miller in the broken state he was in.
Ever since then, Kaz's iconic line has been used countless times to express any kind of trivial frustration. At least Kaz was able to really put the Diamond Dogs on the map!