The fantastic writing helps, and hours in I still experience the occasional new joke, but after just a few tournaments I was already hearing punch lines that were past their expiration dates. My first few hours playing Poker Night 2 were full of giggle after chuckle after guffaw. Just like in Portal, the psychotic AI’s poignant cracks at the intelligence of the competitors never disappoints. This table's show-stealer, though, is the dealer: GladOS.
Watching Brock make off-color conversation about the Venture family and listening to Claptrap crack inside jokes about the development studio behind Borderlands 2 tickles my funny bone in a deep sort of way that makes me feel rewarded for my fandom. Those personalities are the backbone of the Poker Night 2 experience, which means that if you’re not familiar with the franchises they come from you probably won’t love the jokes the way I did.
