By Evan Alexiou

Ah the holidays! It’s the most wonderful time of the year to enjoy a hot drink and some quality entertainment. It’s the best time to enjoy movies, tv shows, music and plays. One of the most overlooked entertainment mediums is video games, which is odd if you ask me. Video games are a bigger industry in terms of success and earning than all other mediums. Unfortunately, there are not many Christmas/Holiday themed video games. However, there is a plethora of winter holidays adjacent games. Here are my picks for all the gamers out there that want something that hits differently when the snow is falling.

FABLE II

My absolute favourite classic to play over the winter period has to be the Xbox 360 acclaimed RPG adventure Fable II. First and foremost, you don’t need to have played the previous Fable game to understand what is happening here. This is a standalone adventure with some references that do not hurt the storytelling. This is a classic hero’s journey story. You play the “Little Sparrow”. You are an orphan that lives on the streets of a medieval town with your little sister. After a fatal encounter with the game’s villain, you awake in your own heroic power that always resided inside you. You now will travel the land and unite with other heroes to fight evil and save the land. In the meantime like other Fable games, you will get to fall in love, marry, have kids, get a job, buy a house and land. It’s a classic in all the right ways and a glowing recommendation from me.

BATMAN ARKHAM ORIGINS

Speaking of games, you don’t need to play previous instalments to understand – Batman Arkham Origins is the prequel of the Arkham universe, so you will be starting from the beginning. Hence the origins name. Everything is better with Batman. Including the holidays. The game takes place in Gotham during Christmas eve. The atmosphere of the game’s open world is immaculate. This is coupled with the always incredible feeling combat of the Arkham games. Sending goons to the hospital with life threatening injuries never felt more festive. The story is incredible as well. The main villain is black mask with a cameo from Deathstroke. There are also plenty of twists that I am not going to spoil. This is a strong recommendation to all the fans of the caped crusader.

MAFIA 2

This is one is purely about the atmosphere and vibes.  Once again you don’t have to have played the previous game. This is its own story. It’s about a Sicilian American war veteran caught in between the mafia rivalries and wars that plague the games fictional city of Empire Bay. The game is set between 1945 and 1951. Everything from the city to the clothes, cars, weapons and outfits is very vintage. A major portion of the game is set in the snowy time in the city. Driving around listening to the old timey music is so nostalgic. This game brings the old timey whimsy, and the story delivers on the feels as well. It also had a remastered / enhanced edition that released in 2020 for all consoles and PC which makes it very accessible as well.

BULLY SCHOLARSHIP EDITION

This is purely childhood nostalgia. Bully is the most underrated game Rockstar Games have ever made. Unlike Red Dead Redemption and GTA, this game does not get the recognition it deserves. Is it a holiday game? Not really. But it has a Holiday themed mission and open world. It is a really good one and it involves buying presents. And the story is very heartfelt. The game’s story is not about bullying trust me. It’s a cheesy American high school story. But sometimes that’s what you need – a reminder of simpler times.

LIVE SERVICE GAMES

Live service games are very popular right now. If you want to feel festive, your favourite ongoing competitive, casual multiplayer games have got you covered. Either with appropriately themed cosmetics, weapons, battle passes and even maps. If you are into 3rd person shooters, Fortnite has got you covered. If you prefer 1st person shooters, like me, I suggest Call of Duty. Their Christmas remake of the infamous map Shipment was amazing last year. Sports enthusiast? EA FC has special cards around the festive time of year and NBA 2K has them too. Sims literally has a full-blown expansion named ‘Seasons’ that includes the option to make your own holiday with your customs and traditions. No matter what you are playing: Rocket League, Among us, Halo, or anything other. Multiplayer live service games are always a great shout.

INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE

What about something coming out this Holiday season? December 6th sees Machine Games and Bethesda’s new Indiana Jones game releasing. This unique 1st person perspective take on the titular hero will be the big game release of December 2024. This game looks incredible with puzzles, sneaking, fighting bad guys, using your whip to full effect and confronting and fighting cartoony over the top bad guys. This game seems to have it all. It will also be on Xbox Game Pass, so you do not have to buy the full price game if you so wish. Not holiday themed but a great way to spend the holidays.

There aren’t as many games as there are movies or music or books to when it comes to the holidays. However, that doesn’t mean that nothing exists for gamers. Or that the video games that do exist are not of high quality. All the games in the list above are quality and will help get anyone in the festive mood. Of course, it goes without saying that all of the above games would make fantastic Christmas gifts for the gamers in your life. Let’s help spread some cheer and play some amazing video games. Game on!

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