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Many games, either directly or indirectly, incorporate the Christmas holidays. While some, often quirky indie titles, focus specifically on Christmas (a hilarious horror title where you must escape from the monster who wants to steal Christmas or some games for children featuring Christmas themes), we won’t be covering those here.
In this article, we’ll focus exclusively on games that capture the Christmas spirit, either through their visual style or by setting their events specifically on Christmas night. We also aim to highlight games that perfectly complement the festive atmosphere, making them ideal for holiday gaming.
One more thing that we want to add is that there are not too many such games out there; we really don't know why this is the case because it's very clear that many people crave such games desperately, especially during Christmas and New Year holidays; therefore, this list might not be as long as some other lists we've done recently.
Perfect games to play during the Christmas holidays
- Batman: Arkham Origins
- Bayonetta 2
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Saint's Row 4: How The Saints Saved Christmas
- South Park: The Stick of Truth
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Tom Clancy's: The Division
- Yakuza Kiwami
1. Batman: Arkham Origins
- Developer: WB Games Montreal
- Release Date: October 25, 2013
- Available on: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, Xbox Series X|S (backwards compatible, disc only)
The third instalment in one of the best superhero series ever made, Batman Arkham, is reserved for Batman: Arkham Origins, a game developed by WB Games Montreal.
Batman: Arkham Origins's plot is set on Christmas Eve, and while everyone else enjoys their well-deserved time off with their friends and family, our caped hero must go out and fight the crime, because if he won't, no one else will. Gotham City will be full of Christmas decorations, decorated Christmas trees, Christmas-themed lamps, and everything you might've expected to be within the city streets during this festive time.
Let's not forget thugs who wear Santa hats, Alfred, who prepared the Christmas dinner for Bruce, which he has no time to eat, of course, and the streets of Gotham City covered in snow. If you're looking for a game that depicts a great Christmas atmosphere, there are few better than Batman: Arkham Origins.
2. Bayonetta 2
- Developer: Platinum Games
- Release Date: September 20, 2014
- Available on: Wii U and Nintendo Switch
As we've mentioned in the intro of this article, we will mostly focus on the games that bring us that specific Christmas mood and Bayonetta 2 is one such game, most of the time. Almost the entire game's plot takes place during the Christmas day, while the game's introduction lets the Christmas spirit enter through the big door.
At the beginning of the game, Bayonetta will personally buy some Christmas presents, and the overall design tells the Christmas story itself. Of course, the plot doesn't have anything to do with Christmas itself, except, of course, for the fact that Bayonetta's main enemies are angels, and angels and Christmas go side by side. Someone might say, Hey! The angels in Bayonetta 2 are evil. How can that have anything in common with Christmas? Maybe this reason is sound, but, hey! if you want a Christmas atmosphere? Be ready to overlook some minor details.
3. Hogwarts Legacy
- Developer: Warner Bros.
- Release Date: February 10, 2023
- Available on: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC
Hogwarts Legacy is the only game on this list that actually has nothing at all to do with Christmas, and the only reason it earns its place on this list is the Christmas-like atmosphere during a specific portion of the game. For those uninformed, Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action RPG from Warner Bros. set in the Wizarding World from popular Harry Potter books and movies.
Given that the plot of the game takes place during the entire schooltime of the protagonist, it is only natural that the winter will come to Hogwarts as well, and during this period, the atmosphere is so Christmasy that you'll wish you could find your way inside this magic world just to enjoy the scenery.
If you own this game, the Christmas holidays might be the ideal opportunity to revisit it, or if you never played it, now might be the perfect time to buy it. Hogwarts Legacy is a very good game and if you like, you can check out our review if you need more convincing.
4. Saint's Row 4: How The Saints Saved Christmas
- Developer: Deep Silver
- Release Date: December 10, 2013
- Available on: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC
When Rockstar introduced the first GTA games and when their popularity skyrocketed, Deep Silver offered the alternative to GTA titles in the form of Saint's Row games. Those games followed pretty much the same gameplay concept, but the story and overall approach were a bit more humoristic and, let's say, less-than-serious.
Because of their "free spirit," we've seen many Sain't Row instalments whose story was, I hope the word isn't too strong, quite bizarre. One such instalment is the Saint's Row 4's DLC called Saint's Row 4: How The Saints Saved Christmas. In this DLC, you have the opportunity to play an additional three missions where you must save Santa from the evil simulation.
Apart from the story, the Christmas atmosphere of this game is quite good with additional Christmas outfits like those famous sweaters and, of course, the Santa Claus suit.
5. South Park: The Stick of Truth
- Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
- Release Date: March 4, 2014
- Available on: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC
South Park: The Stick of Truth is a role-playing game based on the popular cartoon by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Like the majority of the games on this list, South Park: The Stick of Truth's plot isn't directly related to Christmas, but it happens during this period of the year, and the game's overall design screams Christmas all over the screen.
First, the locations in the game are covered by snow, and second, many characters wear Christmas outfits like Santa hats or dear antlers, and in one location, there's a huge decorated Christmas tree. However, be warned that South Park isn't the game you should be playing with kids around because of the colourful language and "liberal" themes this game treats. It will definitely feel like Christmas but enjoy it behind closed doors.
6. Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Developer: Insomniac Games
- Release Date: November 12, 2020
- Available on: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC
If you're truly looking for a game that will make you feel that Christmas spirit, then look no further because Spider-Man: Miles Morales is arguably one of the best ones you can play.
It is well known that Spider-Man's city of operation is New York, and when you think of Christmas, you think of New York because no other city depicts the Christmas atmosphere like it does. The entire plot of Spider-Man: Miles Morales is set during Christmas, and in this game, you'll see New York in its best Christmas light. The streets are full of Christmas decorations; you'll be able to see New York's great Christmas tree, and at the beginning of the game, Rio, Miles's mother, will host a Christmas dinner for Miles and his friends, depicting a true Christmas vibe.
One of Spider-Man's outfits you'll be able to unlock throughout the story will be a scarf and Santa's hat—a very nice addition that makes this game very atmospheric and probably the best choice to spend holiday days with if you want to feel that Christmas spirit even through the screen.
7. Tom Clancy's: The Division
- Developer: Massive Entertainment
- Release Date: December 9, 2015
- Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC
Tom Clancy's: The Division is Ubisoft's looter shooter set in snowy New York that simply oozes Christmas atmosphere despite its grim story. In one way, The Division's christmas decorations and beuatifuly rendered snow will make you feel hopeful that New Yorkers can survive the virus that brought the city to its knees.
We cannot promise that by playing The Division, you'll have that particular Christmas feeling, but the snowy streets of New York and Christmas themes will be all around, and if that's enough for you to feel at the right place, this game might just scratch that particular Christmas atmosphere itch.
8. Yakuza Kiwami
- Developer: Sega
- Release Date: January 21, 2016
- Available on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch
You might wonder how a game that depicts Japanese underground mafia wars and criminal conflict ended up on this list. Well, in the first Yakuza game, which was re-released as Yakuza Kiwami in 2016, the Christmas atmosphere is present at every corner.
The plot of the first two Yakuza games takes place exactly during Christmas, and while the story doesn't have much in common with this holiday apart from that, the very atmosphere is why we recommend you give this one a go.
You'll come across people wearing Santa outfits all the time, and the streets will be filled with Christmas decorations; we'd say a perfect game for a not-so-busy Christmas morning when you want to chill with a cup of hot chocolate and a controller in your hands.
Apart from the games on this list, you can find a lot of live services like Fortnite or Warzone that host specific Christmas events, introducing special outfits or weapon sets, even the characters connected to this festive time. We can always recommend Hitman: World of Assassination because this game always adds one of its elusive targets that complements this theme.
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