Over the years, scripts in video games have become more realistic; they have adapted to reflect the changes within our modern language. Profanity is much more widely accepted now in movies, television, and video games than, say, a decade ago. Freedom of speech is an essential aspect in the creative process, especially in media, where a solid script and can make or break a product.
In this list, we’ll be taking a look at the Top 10 Games with Excessive Profanity, and featuring two actual quotes said within each game! The #1 spot will go to the game with the most excessive profanity, and the #10 spot will contain the least. We here at Honey’s Anime like to think of ourselves as educators, so keep your eyes peeled, kiddos, because you’re about to broaden your vocabulary!
10. Saints Row
- System: Xbox 360
- Publisher: Volition
- Developer: THQ
- Release Dates: August 29, 2006
“Every m********a here knows what we need to do. Those b*****s be ridin’ around, thinkin’ they own these streets. I don’t care what flags they’re flyin’… Rollerz, Carnales, Vice Kings… no one’s makin’ this n***a scared to walk the Row. We ‘bout to lock this s**t down… right now.”-Julius Little
“I’m gonna skull-f**k that b***h.”-Johnny Gat
The Third Street Saints are locked in a fierce battle with their rival gangs to control the city of Stilwater. The player is a new edition to the Saints, but with effort, can quickly rise through the ranks if they can prove that they are OG. With support from legendary Saints like Julius Little, Johnny Gat, and Aisha, Stilwater is as good as theirs.
Gangbangers aren’t exactly known for their clean language, and the Saints of Saints Row are no exception. With scripting very similar to the Grand Theft Auto series, Saints Row would be rated “M” based on its use of profanity alone. Voice acting powerhouse Keith David lends his talent to the all-star cast of Saints Row, along with Daniel Dae Kim, Michael Rapaport, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ogie Banks, and Mila Kunis!
9. Bulletstorm
- System: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Microsoft Windows
- Publisher: Epic Games, People Can Fly
- Developer: EA
- Release Dates: February 22, 2011
“Well, now, hold yer d**k for one second, ya fungal r**job!”-General Sarrano
“The f**k you callin’ me for, a**maggot? Are you calling me from the job site? You ignorant piece of s**t!”-General Sarrano
When space pirate Captain Grayson Hunt makes a brash, drunken decision to take revenge on Star General Sarrano of the Confederation of Planets, he mistakenly ends up killing all but one of his crew and marooning himself, his first mate, and a small army of Confederates on a hostile planet long abandoned by civilized humans. Now, Captain Grayson and Shipmate Ishi Sato must fight their way through miles of hazardous urban terrain while slaughtering monsters, crazed sub-humanoids, and Confederate elites to get to the only their chance of escape, a rescue ship. Fans of Cowboy Bebop will recognize that Grayson Hunt is voiced by Steve Blum, who is also the voice actor behind Spike Spiegel.
It’s difficult not to crack a smile at the banter, racial slurs, and sexist jokes littered throughout the game’s dialogue. Everyone is pissed off at each other for one reason or another but, due to the awkward situation, they have to work together to survive. Instead of killing each other on the spot, they seem to settle for mutual hatred, most of which is channeled into creative comebacks that would make most sailors blush. And given the fact that Grayson and the General pretty much hate each other, there are plenty of cheap shots between the two, both literally and figuratively. General Sarrano has some of the best lines in the game, and players who are more sensitive to profanity might find themselves mentally scarred by some of the general’s visually descriptive insults.
8. Far Cry 3
- System: Xbox 360, PS3, Microsoft Windows
- Publisher: Ubisoft Montreal
- Developer: Ubisoft
- Release Dates: December 4, 2012
“Did you want me to slice you open like I did your friend? Shut the f**k up, okay? I’m the one with the f*****g d**k. Look at me, look me in the f*****g eye. Hey! You f**k! Look me in the eye! You’re my b***h. I rule this f*****g kingdom. Shut the f**k up! Or you die.”-Vaas Montenegro
“Insanity is doing the exact same f*****g thing over and over again, expecting s**t to change.”-Vaas Montenegro
After Jason Brody, his brothers, and his friends go skydiving and parachute to the wrong island, they are captured by pirates and initially held for ransom. Vaas Montenegro, leader of said pirates, executes Jason’s older brother and releases Jason into the jungle with a thirty-second head start so that Vaas and his pirates can hunt down and kill Jason, the same way that a predator hunts prey. Although wounded, Jason survives the ordeal by escaping the jungle and begins a sort of spiritual journey, a metamorphosis into becoming the hero that can defeat the enigmatic warlord, Vaas. To emerge victorious, Jason must first learn the definition of insanity.
Although the script for Far Cry 3 is full of profanity, it adds a sense of realism to the game because it doesn’t go overboard with ridiculous or compound swear words; it adheres to the way that most modern day people speak, but with a greater frequency of expletives. Overall, players will notice that the swearing is noticeable, but not distracting from the game because it melds perfectly with the script and character personalities. Possibly one of the absolute best villains in video games history, Vaas Montenegro is an unforgettable character and he certainly has the lines to prove it.
7. Conker’s Bad Fur Day
- System: N64
- Publisher: Rare
- Developer: Rare; EU: THQ
- Release Dates: March 5, 2001
“Duct-tape? I’ll give him the duct-tape. F****n’ a**hole! I come down here, I’ll show him where the duct-tape is and I’ll show him where to stuff it! Stupid f**ker! All I do all day is try and sort his f****n’ problems out! A**hole! I f****n’ hate that f****r!”-Professor
“Have you ever sat on a piece of gothic architecture for two hundred years? Gets right up your a**, you know.”-Gargoyle
A bad fur day is a pain the ass for any squirrel, and to top it off, Conker has a hangover, too. He partied a little too hard last night and woke up in a strange bar that’s far away from home. To get back to his waiting girlfriend, Conker needs to navigate his way through a foreign land filled with wacky characters and distracting piles of cash.
Lovably vulgar, Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a game well-known for its share of potty-mouth profanity, not just from the alcoholic squirrel himself but from pretty much everyone you meet within the game. While the cartoonish characters and bright colors might give the game the appearance of being for teens, it earns its M Rating well.
6. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- System: Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, iOS, OS X, Android, Fire OS, Windows Phone, Microsoft Windows
- Publisher: Rockstar North
- Developer: Rockstar Games
- Release Dates: October 26, 2004
“I can s**t on you from such a height, you’ll think God himself took a crap on you.”-Officer Tenpenny
“Damn! That n***a’s fucked up!”-Carl “CJ” Johnson
Carl Johnson, better known as CJ, finally comes back home to the city of Los Santos after spending five years on the East Coast to find his mother murdered. The city is not doing well and has become overrun with violent gang members, shifty drug dealers, and overall corruption. CJ vows to retake the city by reforming his old gang into the alpha dogs of Los Santos.
As a game series, Grand Theft Auto is no stranger to profanity. In fact, one might say that GTA wouldn’t be GTA without a few F-Bombs flying around. And with acting talent Samuel L. Jackson voicing one of the characters in the game, you know it’s going to be good!
5. South Park: The Stick of Truth
- System: Xbox 360, PS3, Microsoft Windows
- Publisher: Obsidian Entertainment
- Developer: Ubisoft
- Release Dates: March 4, 2014
“G*ddammit, I have f*****g authority!” -Eric Cartman
“Ah s**t, dude, I think I see blood! F****n’ nice, brah, that’s exactly what you do to guys with armor like that.” -Eric Cartman
The boys are off on another adventure; an epic quest to recover a treasured relic known as The Stick of Truth. You play as Douchebag (no, really), the new kid in South Park who gets roped into a laughably absurd plot involving Nazi zombies, aliens, elves, and Jew-jitsu.
In keeping with tradition, South Park: The Stick of Truth continues to test the limits of free speech. The result is a video game as ridiculously profane and blatantly offensive as the television show, much to the delight of players everywhere.
4. Scarface: The World is Yours
- System: Xbox, PS2, Wii, Microsoft Windows
- Publisher: Radical Entertainment
- Developer: Sierra Entertainment
- Release Dates: October 10, 2006
“You think you can take me? You need a f*****g army if you gonna take me! You hear? I’ll take you all to f*****g hell!”-Tony Montana
“Why you gotta talk to me like that, huh? Like you got some f*****g baseball bat up your a** or something?”-Tony Montana
The 1983 classic gangster movie Scarface ended with Tony Montana being killed in his famous mansion shootout. Scarface: The World Is Yours begins about five minutes before Tony dies in the movie, only this time, Tony must fight his way out of the mansion and escape his would-be assassins. With his residence now in ruins and a price on his head, Tony finds himself back at square one, with nothing but his balls and his word. Scarface must work his way back up to the top and take what is rightfully his.
If you’ve ever seen Scarface, you know that this movie pulls no punches when it comes to cursing. And why should it? Gangsters and profanity go hand in hand, much like coke and strippers. Scarface: The World Is Yours adheres to that creed without fail, and most of the game’s scripting is very similar to the movie.
3. Rogue Warrior
- System: Xbox 360, PS3, Microsoft Windows
- Publisher: Rebellion Developments
- Developer: Bethesda Softworks
- Release Dates: December 1, 2009
“F**k this g*ddamn s**t!”-Dick Marcinko
“G*damn c**kbreath Commie m***********s!”-Dick Marcinko
On a cold and stormy autumn night in 1986, three Navy SEALS are dropped into North Korea under the cover of darkness. Their mission: meet with a sleeper agent within the ranks of the North Korean army for intel on a munitions factory that might be producing parts for an unknown type of ICBM. But from the moment their boots hit the ground, the shit started to hit the fan; an unexpected patrol took out two SEALS in an instant. Now, the only remaining SEAL must complete the mission solo in an effort to save the world. The main character, Dick Marcinko, is voiced by somebody infamous for his real life swearing habit, Mickey Rourke.
There’s swearing, and then there’s Mickey Rourke in Rogue Warrior. He didn’t just use the standard inventory of curse words; like a mad scientist (or linguist) he mixed and matched obscenities in ways that most people could never dream of. Admittedly, some combinations are better than others, and the ones that don’t work so well make him sound like a child who just learned how to swear but hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet. Nevertheless, the selection of profanity in this game is amusing.
2. The House of The Dead: Overkill
- System: Wii, PS3, iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows
- Publisher: Headstrong Games
- Developer: Sega
- Release Dates: February 10, 2009
“M********k…! What does a brother have to do to pacify a b***h?”-Isaac Washington
“I’m gonna rip your m***********g balls off!”-Isaac Washington
When Detective Isaac Washington and Agent G team up to take down a notorious crime boss by the name of Papa Caesar, they discover a more immediate problem: the outbreak of mutant zombies. With time quickly running out, they must work together to exterminate the deadly creatures, uncover a sinister plot, and kill Papa Caesar!
A great tribute to Grindhouse-style flicks, The House of the Dead: Overkill boasts a story and script that almost feel influenced by director Quentin Tarantino. Everything is over-the-top, from the characters, to the plot, the action sequences, and even the swearing. Until 2010, this game held the Guinness World Record for Most Swearing in a Video Game. The word “f**k” was a whopping 3% of the script, meaning that the F-Bomb was dropped 189 times in total throughout the game.
1. Mafia II
- System: Xbox 360, PS3, Microsoft Windows
- Publisher: 2K Czech
- Developer: 2K Czech, 2K Games
- Release Dates: August 24, 2010
“S**t, Mike! You could wash your f*****g hands once in a while. Now I need a f*****g bath!”-Joe Barbaro
“Of course I’m not f*****g OK, he shot me in the f*****g leg…urgh…”-Henry Tomasino
After being injured in the Allied Invasion of Sicily during WWII, Vito Scaletta is finally able to return home to Empire Bay in America. While he is trying to find work to pay off his father’s debt to a loan shark, Vito is introduced into a life of crime by his old friend, Joe Barbaro, who is now a made man. Intrigued with the respect, money, power, and women that come with the life of a bona fide gangster, Vito continues further down the rabbit hole.
Real Mafioso guys curse a lot; it just naturally comes with the lifestyle! When Mafia II was released in 2010, it broke the Guinness World Record for the Most Swearing in a Video Game (with over 200 f**ks given!); it still holds that achievement to the present day. That same record was formerly held by The House Of The Dead: Overkill, which also happens to be the previous entry on our list. That’s a very nice World Record… it would be a real shame to see it get broken again, capiche?
Final Thoughts
Like it or not, profanity has become a part of most modern day media and its presence shows how much media has evolved in the last decade alone. The games included on this list may have had excessive profanity in them, but arguably, it’s one of the aspects that set them apart from the norm. In some cases, the cursing actually adds more realism to the characters, as a few entries feature gangsters, both old-school and new, as the protagonists. Hopefully, we’ll see many more excessively profane games in the years to come.
In your opinion, did any of the games listed above contain too much cursing to be enjoyable? What other games do you think contain excessive profanity? What games do you think could use more profanity? Let us know in the comments section and thanks for reading!