Video games have progressed so much throughout the years that it can be hard to remember that, at one point, they were just a bunch of squares on a screen. Nowadays, games can make just about any player feel a whole range of emotions from sadness to laughter.

For many years, video games have been an important source of laughter, and it's all thanks to some of these hilarious characters. Everyone has their favourites, but here are some of the funniest.

10 Sergeant Cortez

Timesplitters SGt cortez closeup

The TimeSplitters series is an excellent sci-fi first-person shooter that typically revolves around the adventures of Sergeant Cortez as he protects the universe from menaces who seek to tamper with the fabric of time. A set-up like that may sound rather serious, but Cortez is a laugh riot.

Throughout TimeSplitters Future Perfect, Cortez calls out all the ridiculous situations he ends up stuck in during the game's excellent cutscenes. With time travel in the mix, you can imagine the sorts of situations he gets himself into.

9 Sans

Sans, Pun Lord

Undertale is one of the biggest indie games of all time. The brilliantly crafted RPG utilizes a number of unique features in order to tell a familiar story with plenty of standout characters. The entire game is also jam-packed with jokes.

The always punny Sans is one of the many non-playable stars of the game. Just about every scene Sans appears in is bound to have players laughing out loud. Any self-professed pun-masters will find some form of kinship with Sans, and it seems like there's a lot of them considering how popular he is.

8 Deadpool

No list that features funny characters is complete without a mention of the now-iconic anti-hero Deadpool. While his leap into video games started back in 2013 with the self-titled beat-em-up Deadpool, fans haven't forgotten just how funny the game is.

Any fans of the character know exactly what to expect when Deadpool is around. The game features plenty of hilarious fourth wall breaks, pop culture references, and a collection of scenes that might be something fans never thought they'd see. Few things beat Deadpool slapping Wolverine over and over.

7 Claptrap

Claptrap Borderlands 2 Official Game Screenshot Pose In Desert Wasteland Area

The Borderlands series has managed to solidify its spot among the greatest games of all time while also crafting some of the greatest characters of all time. Claptrap may not be a character that fits everyone's comedic tastes, but even players who don't like the robot will have a hard time not chuckling at its antics.

The endearingly upbeat robot features in dozens of missions from sidequests all the way to the main campaign, and his inclusion only serves to make them all the more enjoyable.

6 Glados

Portal 2 Promo Shot Of Chell and GlaDOS

Fans of puzzle games generally agree that the Portal series is one of the best options for players of all skill levels. The tight gameplay is one thing, but its unique characters are a whole different beast.

The hilariously devious robot Glados spends the games tormenting the player as they make their way through the test facilities. Glados does everything from lying to the player, to blatantly saying exactly what she thinks, but almost everything she says is utterly hilarious. Things only get better when she's stuck inside a potato.

5 Johnny Cage

Mortal Kombat - Both The Future And Past Johnny Cage Smiling At Something

The consistently gory Mortal Kombat franchise might be the last place gamers expect to find bits of comedy, but that's never stopped the development team from throwing in moments to make players chuckle. The arrogant movie-star Johnny Cage has been a source of laughter for the serious series over the last few years.

Even though Johnny has seemingly matured over the last two entries, that's never stopped him from cracking some great jokes. From the constantly referenced Ninja Mime series to Cage's nutcracker attack, there's plenty to enjoy from Johnny.

4 Duke Nukem

While the Duke Nukem series has had its fair share of problems, it's hard to deny how funny Duke is. Duke's brand of jokes could possibly be described as a bit more juvenile than other games, it's clear that there is an audience for those types of laughs.

Many fans of the series agree that Duke's one-liners are where the character thrives, but the incredibly crude situations he finds himself in only add to his joke potential. While toilet humor isn't necessarily for everyone, Duke is far from the worst offender.

3 The Protagonist

Keith david beginning of Saints Row

The Saint's Row Series has turned ridiculous ideas that wouldn't work in most games into some of the best and funniest gameplay players can find. As the series continued on, the storylines only got more and more grand in scope.

Seeing the player-controlled character lead a gang, battle a professional wrestler, become the president, and wage a war against aliens has been a joy for gamers around the world. The jokes that come not only from the situations but also the banter between characters are some of the best across the genre.

2 The Great Mighty Poo

Conker Faces The Great Mighty Poo

There was a time when it was rare for video games to focus on telling a humorous story. The iconic cult-classic Conker's Bad Fur Day is an older game that had a serious focus on humor within its weird world.

While Bad Fur Day is memorable for a variety of reasons, one of the largest and smelliest reasons comes from The Great Mighty Poo. The operatic sludge monster of a boss is one of the strangest and funniest characters that gaming has ever seen. It helps that the song is incredibly catchy.

1 Handsome Jack

Handsome Jack - via Gearbox

Handsome Jack is a character that fits into many roles. He's acted as a playable character in the Borderlands franchise,the main villain of a game, a father, and he's also side-splittingly hilarious.

It's hard to imagine how different Borderlands 2 would feel if the player wasn't constantly dealing with Jack's various taunts and jokes. Whether he was taking the time to laugh at you during tense fights, or just checking in to remind you that he was the real hero, Jack is easily one of the funniest and iconic villains in gaming history.

Next: Adult Jokes You Never Noticed In Nintendo Games