Best Christmas games: 10 video games to get you in the holiday spirit

Xmas games are hard to come by, but we've picked out a select few to get you in the holiday spirit

We all have our favorite selection of Christmas movies we watch every year, but we don’t think about Christmas video games so much. The experience of spending a cold evening snuggled up watching some films is easy to get behind, but several lazy afternoons slumped on the sofa playing games is a little less romantic of an image.

Don’t let that dissuade you though, if you want some fun around the holiday season, there are plenty of video games that fit the bill. While you’re not likely to find a game about a Scrouge-Esque character learning to love Christmas, you can find plenty of wintery cheer all over the place if you look hard enough.

Super Mario Odyssey

Nintendo

While only one of Mario Odyssey’s many worlds is covered in snow, you’ll find plenty there to keep you occupied for a while. The round polar bears there are adorable in their winter gear, and the Bound Bowl races are an easy way to get the family to play games. On top of that, Odyssey is all about the joy and thrill of adventure, which seems like a very merry way to spend the holidays.

Batman: Arkham Origins

The caped crusader has had his fair share of Christmassy adventures over the years across many different mediums, and video games are no expectation. As an entry in the Arkham series of games, it’s an excellent superhero game that you should check out if you have even a passing interest in the genre. What’s more, the entire game takes place on Christmas Eve. While it isn’t full of cheer, it’s quite interesting to see the typically down-beat Gotham celebrate the holidays.

Bully

We all long for the innocent wonder of being a child on Christmas Day. The crushing passage of time makes that impossible for us in the real world, so Bully is the closest we’re going to get. Bully’s third chapter is set in the winter and once you get far enough in the story, Christmas Day will roll around and you’ll get to play in the snow and stir up some trouble.

Not only do you get to open a present from your mom, but it’s one of the few days in the entire game where there is no time limit, meaning you can explore the festive town of Bullworth for as long as you want.

SSX

The Winter Olympics isn’t nearly as thrilling as most of us want it to be, which is what makes SSX the perfect snowy sports game. If you want to be taken back to a simpler time then it doesn’t get much better than speeding down a snowy mountain, performing half a million flips, and listening to Green Day.

Bayonetta 2

This is arguably the Die Hard of Christmas games, as it has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, but is technically set around that time, so falls into the category. Bayonetta 2 arguably does pay more lip service to the holiday than Die Hard does though, as the game starts with Bayonetta doing a lovely bit of Christmas shopping. Then angels attack and you have to slay them, which does go pretty heavily against what Christmas is supposedly about, but that’s beside the point.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Another superhero game set at Christmas, Miles Morales manages to get more into the spirit than most thanks to Spider-Man’s nature of a double-life. Stopping criminals is great, but it’s just as nice to come home and visit the family. Plus, you get to swing New York while it’s covered in snow – that alone makes it better than the original game.

God of War Ragnarok

A game you may well be hoping to find under the tree this Christmas, God of War gives a strong wintery vibe right out of the gate. Fimbulwinter has descended upon the nine realms at the start of this game, which turns Midgard from a varied land to a winter wonderland in all the best and worst ways.

There are horrors from the depths of Helheim walking the surface – that’s bad – but the Lake of Nine is now a giant ice rink – that’s good. The Gods of Asgard are getting involved with Kratos – that’s bad – but you get to ride a wolf-pulled sled – that’s good.

Steep

SSX may be a comfy throwback to times gone by, but if you want the cutting edge of extreme winter sports, then Steep is your best bet. You can ski, snowboard, or wingsuit your way down the game’s massive mountain in all sorts of events, plus there’s now some X Games content available as DLC. It’s one you should keep an eye out for in this year’s Christmas sales.

Bloodborne

We all like to find the magic and beauty in winter, but many see it as a depressing season. Large parts of nature die out as the nights get colder, darker, and lonelier. Rather than shouting Humbug at the world, channel your despair into the world of Bloodborne which thrives on the darkness within. It still manages to capture some of winter’s beauty though – the ice and snow around CainHurst Castle looks as pretty as it does haunting.

Minecraft

Minecraft lets you create any world you desire, what better opportunity to build the winter wonderland of your wildest dreams could you ask for?

You can generate a random world if you want to seek out the snow yourself, or you could check out our list of the best Minecraft seeds, which includes some winter landscapes for you to try right out of the gate. Whether you want snow-covered planes or ice-tipped mountains, you can create whatever holiday structures you want.