The best Christmas games fill you with delight and cheer for all to hear. Perhaps it’s found in a snowy setting, a grand story, or festive items to get you into the spirit. Regardless of your holiday favorites, here are five games you can try set around the season.
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Christmas is a time of nostalgia, and I remember watching a lot of Disney Christmas specials over the holidays when I was a kid. Disney Dreamlight Valley brings all your favorite characters from the House of Mouse into one setting. In this Animal Crossing-like game, you make all sorts of holiday treats like Minnie’s Gingerbread Cookies, Hot Cocoa, and a Yule Log, among other favorites. You can also unlock Jack Skellington, and if you get him to Level 10, you score his Sandy Claws outfit.
To me, Disney Dreamlight Valley is the game I’ll chill out with over the holidays. Finishing quests, collecting crops, and hanging out with my Disney pals sounds like a relaxing trip. It’s one of the best Christmas games to get away from a pesky family argument and relax.
Ebenezer and the Invisible World
Ebenezer and the Invisible World is one of the very few games actually based on the holidays. It’s a Metroidvania that has you unlocking new powers through the spirits you meet. You’re also exploring a festive London with some gorgeous holiday-inspired scenery to gaze at. The game seems to be a great time for fans of the Christmas Carol novel as it takes place one year after those events and features characters from the book.
Fortnite
If you love to play battle royale games, Fortnite has a cornucopia of Holiday-themed items to unlock and purchase. You’ll get into the festive spirit by getting free items every day. There are some entertaining weapons and items based on the holidays, too. You can hide in a snowman as cover, summon huge holiday presents with loot inside, and fire snowballs with a specialized grenade launcher.
Fortnite is my personal chill game when I can turn my brain off, and I find so much joy in playing this game with my buddies. Finishing Winterfest quests also unlocks you a pretty snowglobe-themed pickaxe, so there’s an incentive to play this game right now. Unfortunately, the Cozy Lodge from past years has gone missing.
Kingdom Hearts 2 (Christmas Town!)
During a playthrough of Kingdom Hearts 2, Sora returns to Halloween Town. However, just like the movie the world’s based on, we visit Christmas Town. Our heroes Sora, Donald, and Goofy get new outfits. Sora has a black Santa hat, Donald looks like a snowman, and Goofy adorns reindeer ears. They look absolutely adorable.
If you’re a fan of the Tim Burton-produced film The Nightmare Before Christmas, you’ll dig the new storyline that has Sora, Jack, and the gang saving the workshop and Santa in the process. It’s also cute how Sora gets reprimanded for not believing in Santa anymore. After finishing the Halloween Town world, you can then experience the rest of the magical story that awaits you.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
One of the best Christmas games by far is Spider-Man: Miles Morales. It focuses heavily on the season with a beautifully lit-up Brooklyn and snow falling on the ground. The graphics are absolutely stellar as well, especially at night as the lighting system is pristine. Before the game’s release, fans wondered if it would feel too similar to the first game. As the Destructoid review notes: “The Christmas time period and wintery sparkle of the city also help add to the feeling that this is not a copy-and-paste job.”
The effective storyline, while it gets dark at points, does get lighthearted, and the mother-son relationship between Rio and Miles feels authentic. Some of the side quests also highlight the community warmth of the season. Add on to that a spectacular battle system that highlights Miles’ electrical abilities and lightning-fast movement, and you’ve got a winner of a Christmas game.
For those of you not so big on the season, check this list out for people into shouting “Humbug!” instead. And Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie; that’s the truth.
