10 Games That Became Huge MEMES

Git Gud “Dark Souls” (2011)

A passionate community is key to making a game vibrate through the internet, and there is no lack of community passion in the Dark Souls world. Dark Souls, and the series as a whole, have birthed a plethora of memes and gags, the most popular of all being the infamous “git gud”. Lose a round in an FPS? Git gud. 1V1 in a fighting game? Git gud. Cut me off in traffic and then flip me off but then I cut you off and get to the light before you and you have the stop while I drive through and get to my destination before you? Git gu-you guys get the point. Let’s not also forget the other famous meme template from the series, the ‘you died’ screen, which has so many options for cold, hard, comedy.

Press ‘F’ to Pay Respects “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” (2014)

The Call of Duty series is well-known for including levels and moments that go beyond traditional warzones and covert missions. It's also well known for OCCASIONALLY missing the mark on ‘drama’ and slipping into laughable melodrama, and adding interactivity to dramatic moments is a slippery slope to comedy. These interactive segments are best represented by Advanced Warfare, when players were prompted to "Press F to pay respects" during a funeral scene. Whether or not the developers anticipated how amusing the gaming community would find it, the internet quickly turned the phrase into a meme, using it to mockingly commemorate moments of failure, or disappointment, or pride. Truly any context.

Sans “Undertale” (2015)

Sans is a fan-favorite character from Undertale, known for his lazy demeanor, pun-filled humor, and surprising depth. Despite his chill attitude, he becomes a formidable opponent in the game’s Genocide route, warning the player "You're gonna have a bad time." This line became an iconic meme, symbolizing brutal difficulty or well-deserved consequences. Fans also meme his other quotes, but certainly not to the level of ‘Bad Time’. His final battle, filled with clever mechanics and emotional weight, cemented Sans as a gaming legend and meme staple. A maple if you will, and also if you won’t: My video, my rules.

Steve “Minecraft” (2011)

There’s no point even trying to put a finger on the most popular meme surrounding Minecraft. From 2011 to 2025, this game has birthed more memes than any other game in existence, and even a movie that feels like a brain-rot meme ride through time and space. Steve memes have been a huge center point for the zeitgeist, with Steve’s lackluster appearance representing a variety of moods and contexts.

Meme Launch “Cyberpunk 2077” (2020)

I hate to have two entries in a row with pretty unspecific memes, but it’s hard to ignore them! Minecraft has more memes than square miles of map space, and the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 borderline broke the internet. The launch was so glitchy, so buggy, so underwhelming, that it birthed memes, compilations, and became the context of already established meme formats. It was super easy to clown on, and even easier to meme on. It was breathtaking.

Ridin’ Dirty “Mario Kart 8” (2014)

How wonderful was the day you first saw this meme? When a friend said “Have you seen the replay footage of Luigi turtle shelling enemies and giving them the most evil side eye as he drives past?” And you’re thinking to yourself, it can’t possibly be THAT intense, it’s Mario Kart. Everybody guffawed when they saw these videos, because the death stare from Luigi was so intense that it HAD to be intentional. Luigi, relax brother, this is supposed to be a fun little kart game.

The Cake is a Lie “Portal” (2007)

Portal launched at the perfect time. Everything lined up: indie gaming (even though Portal isn’t technically indie), gaming community culture, meme culture, and nerd culture. All of this collided in every kid you went to school with who did the Naruto run, also singing Still Alive from the end of Portal, while they ran. But no bigger meme was born from this experience than The Cake is a Lie, a subtle and confusing way for gamers to identify each other. To a non-gaming pedestrian, it’s basically gibberish. To gamers, it’s like a siren call for the nerd.

Here We Go Again “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” (2004)

GTA San Andreas successfully birthed its own little collection of memes, two of which are still being used today. It’s a beautiful thing when memes from a game or a movie are created years after the game has fallen out of popularity, but because of this, modern audiences will always know the line “Ahh s**t, here we go again”, and of course “All you had to do was follow the damn train, CJ”. ‘Here we go again” in particular has a LOT of options for use, and continues to be a meme template at the top of our pile, even in 2025, mainly because we are CONSISTENTLY GOING AGAIN.

Sus “Among Us” (2018)

You guys heard of this game? Literally not a single person watching this video said noyes. Among Us, a game centered around deception and betrayal, skyrocketed in popularity in 2020, smack bang during COVID lockdown for a lot of people. It was the perfect time for people to be sunk into their computers, consoles, and most importantly, phones. And this gave rise to countless memes about "sus" behavior and frantic emergency meetings. Blue is sus.

Arrow to the Knee “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” (2011)

I know it’s a dead meme, but it’s absolutely earned its status as a legendary one. In the open world of Skyrim, many guards repeat the line, “I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee.” Intended to explain why a character settled down, the phrase was repeated so frequently that players began quoting it humorously. It quickly spread online, symbolizing any sudden life change or excuse for not doing something. The meme's popularity even surpassed the game itself for some, and GOD FORBID anybody in your life hurts their knee - they’re in danger.