There aren’t many holiday-themed games. As a medium with experiences that can span several weeks, gaming doesn’t align as well with the fleeting nature of the season as movies do.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t games ideal to play around the holidays, even if they weren’t originally crafted with the season in mind. The ones that do offer a distinct way to celebrate and are perfect for yearly revisits. Let’s explore the games that best embody the quiet, cozy essence of the season.
Batman: Arkham Origins
The most underappreciated game in the series is also its most festive. Set on Christmas Eve, a young Batman becomes the target of eight trained assassins aiming to end the Dark Knight for a $50 million reward. Batman: Arkham Origins is a more intimate take on the Batman story, focusing on the Caped Crusader’s relatively grounded villains like Black Mask and Deathstroke, and features the series’ best boss fights. The Christmas setting effectively establishes a unique tone, with Gotham’s lonely, snowy streets before the holidays serving as a constant reminder of Bruce Wayne’s commitment to fighting crime.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Not to be outdone by its DC counterpart, Spider-Man has its own holiday adventure set days before Christmas. also happens to be one of the character’s finest games to date. From its opening scene, Miles Morales is brimming with holiday spirit. Festive lights and snow line the streets and rooftops of this open-world New York City, and swinging through city blocks as light snow falls is a unique experience compared to other Spider-Man games. Its short six-hour runtime means you can finish it before the seasonal mood fades at the start of the new year.
Bully
It isn’t a holiday game in the same vein as Batman and Spider-Man, as it begins at the start of the school year. But when the in-game school year reaches winter a few hours into this lighthearted tale of adolescence, it resonates deeply. Bully’s winter segment is likely the most memorable portrayal of the holiday season in gaming. The entire town is covered in snow, which you can use to make snowballs to toss at fellow students and townspeople. Buildings sport holiday-appropriate decorations, stores sell festive items to buy and wear, and everyone in the open world is bundled up.
The game’s story even takes an emotional turn, as protagonist Jimmy feels the loneliness of being a child away from home during the holidays. Bully is an exceptional game that perfectly captures both the hardships and joys of winter.
Saints Row IV
While marks the point where the series took a turn, it excels at one thing more than any other game in the series: Christmas. The game’s free downloadable mission, How The Saints Saved Christmas, is as charming as its name suggests. In it, your character reveals they’re a Scrooge: they dislike the songs, gift-giving, and even the idea of Santa. But when Santa Claus is kidnapped, you take on the responsibility of saving the holiday. It’s a sweet, small adventure that references holiday classics like It’s A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. And while it’s not the longest DLC, it makes you wonder why more games don’t include such content.
Hitman: World of Assassination
might not be the first franchise that comes to mind for holiday games, but the series has a surprising history of celebrating the season. The iconic assassin’s latest game, Hitman: World of Assassination, has turned this into an annual event called “Holiday Hoarders,” available only at this time of year. The event tasks Agent 47 with hunting two Home Alone-style burglars trying to ruin holiday festivities on the game’s Paris level. Players can even unlock holiday-themed outfits for 47, including a Santa suit and an ugly sweater that he pulls off effortlessly. If holiday stress is weighing on you, stepping into the role of gaming’s top assassin to devise creative endings for troublemakers isn’t a bad way to cope.