Ragdoll physics is a big part of many video games. While in some titles they're used to add a sense of realism to falling and flying sequences, in others, ragdoll physics actually make up the game's primary system of physics... for better or for worse.
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In some games, working against the ragdoll physics present is the main challenge that players have to navigate. Whatever the case may be, ragdoll physics in video games is becoming increasingly sophisticated, realistic, and hilarious as time goes on. This list covers 10 video games with the most entertaining or fun examples of ragdoll physics out there right now.
10 Goat Simulator
Ever wanted to be a goat? Developed by Coffee Stain studios, the Goat Simulator franchise has, despite being fairly niche, become something of a hit, with players challenged to navigate all of the challenges that life as a goat seemingly creates (including, amazingly, a Story Mode, as well as surprisingly interesting side quests).
Whether players are mowing over pedestrians, crash landing into the ground, or falling off something, Goat Simulator uses ragdoll physics to great effect. It's also noteworthy in that players get to see the influence of ragdoll physics on both goats and humans, which certainly can't be said of the other titles on this list.
9 Happy Wheels
A title that invokes as much nostalgia among players as even the most classic Flash games from back in the day, Happy Wheels is a simple browser-based platforming game that heavily uses ragdoll physics. Players navigate levels, many with various threats and traps, while on a variety of different vehicles.
In fact, it's the ragdoll physics in Happy Wheels that makes the game as challenging as it can be. The ragdoll physics in the game are almost constantly in play, so players need to control the momentum of their character while also trying to deal with how the physics of the game plays into this, often with both gruesome and hilarious results.
8 Grand Theft Auto 4
While all of the games in the Grand Theft Auto franchise feature ragdoll physics in some way, often as a result of the mayhem wreaked by their protagonists, GTA 4 is arguably the game with the most entertaining and over-the-top example of them.
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NPCs who are shot or wounded, for example, tend to have incredibly exaggerated physical responses but still tend to manage to stay standing. While undoubtedly sophisticated for the time period that GTA 4 was released in, it's hard to deny that its ragdoll physics aren't hilarious and often fairly unrealistic, especially compared to newer, more refined examples in video games.
When The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was first released, something players quickly noticed about the game was how hilarious its system of ragdoll physics unintentionally was (which was especially jarring in a game clearly intended to make players feel like warriors). This is especially the case when players are struck by an enemy capable of dealing massive damage, like a giant, for example.
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Large impacts in Skyrim often see the player being flung into the air and flailing around wildly as they slowly fall back to the ground. With the game's ragdoll physics in full effect, it can be hard to take scenes like these seriously, despite the fact that they are almost certainly not intended to be amusing.
6 Human: Fall Flat
The hilarious 3D platformer Human: Fall Flat is based heavily on using ragdoll physics as a core element of its gameplay. In the game, players control a rubbery humanoid character and must attempt to navigate a series of puzzle-based platforming levels that are suspended in the sky, some of which are seriously challenging.
It probably goes without saying that it can be pretty difficult for players not to fall to their deaths when dealing with the combined challenges of gravity and the game's ragdoll physics. All in all, this leads to some hilarious outcomes and is serious fun.
5 Gang Beasts
Maybe one of the goofiest fighting games of all time, Gang Beasts is a nearly forgotten, beat 'em up style party game where players are forced to struggle against the game's ragdoll physics in an attempt to dethrone their opponents in whatever way they can.
Environmental hazards are both a blessing and a curse in Gang Beasts; players can throw their opponents to their deaths, for example, but risk falling and dying themselves. All in all, the game is an absolute riot no matter who wins, and its ragdoll physics adds both considerable humor and an added layer of difficulty into the mix.
4 Spidey Swing
Perhaps one of the lesser-known titles on this list, Spidey Swing sees players take control of a very floppy Spiderman and do their best to navigate through the game's various platforming levels.
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Both the challenge and charm of the game lies in its simplicity; players should use webs as sparingly as possible to get from point A to point B while keeping Spiderman as safe as possible from harm. This sounds easy but presents some real difficulty as the game's Spiderman moves as if he's made up entirely of cartilage.
3 Skate 3
Skateboarding is perhaps one of the world's most dangerous sports, and Skate 3, the most recent entry in the longstanding Skate franchise, uses its ragdoll physics to add some serious weight to some of the absolutely brutal bails and falls that players can take in the game.
While a fairly realistic game on the whole, Skate 3 takes hangtime to the extreme and generally engages its ragdoll physics when players are falling and hit something on their way down or bail off their board. The ragdoll physics in Skate 3 are, at times, unintentionally hilarious, though players will undoubtedly be glad they're not the ones experiencing them firsthand!
2 Ragdoll Simulator
Having attained considerable popularity thanks to Let's Play YouTubers, Ragdoll Simulator is described by its developer as having an accurate, lifelike physics system.
A physicist would probably be the best judge or whether or not this is actually the case, but one thing's for sure; Ragdoll Simulator is an absolute riot. Players can attempt to navigate the game's timed challenge maps, stunt maps, and sandbox maps. Playing through the title's various levels will almost certainly see players bail or wipe out numerous times, and, thanks to the game's ragdoll physics, the results of this are often absolutely hilarious.
1 Ragdoll Fighter
The slick and straightforward Ragdoll Fighter is a mobile title that sees players go toe-to-toe with a fellow ragdoll fighter enemy.
With simple controls and a very basic interface, players can use various techniques and moves to try to overcome their opposition. The catch, of course, is that the game is based heavily on ragdoll physics, making fighting a lot more challenging than it otherwise might be. Resulting in this is a gameplay experience that's often hilarious and great fun, capable of keeping players entertained for hours and hours on end.
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