It's December, which means it's officially Christmas time! Unless you're one of those people who just leaves their Christmas lights up all year long, in which case you either think every day is Christmas or you're just tremendously lazy.
Even though this is one of the most celebrated and beloved times of year, developers haven't quite cracked the code when it comes to making great Christmas games. That's why we here at TheGamer have come up with the perfect titles to help get you into the holiday spirit. So gather around the warmth of the TV screen with a piping hot mug of Game Fuel, and play some of these festive games.
Batman: Arkham Origins
For some reason, Batman and Christmas just seem to go hand in hand. Something about a character whose parents were brutally murdered leaving him as an insanely wealthy orphan makes for a good franchise if you're looking for a melancholy holiday tale. In fact, considering his penchant for extreme violence in Home Alone and playing a billionaire child in Richie Rich, it's surprising we never got a young Bruce Wayne movie starring Macaulay Culkin. Talk about a missed opportunity.
While you could just go back to the Batman Returns beat 'em up on Super Nintendo for some Christmassy vibes, we think Batman: Arkham Origins makes the most sense for a good festive adventure. The entire game takes place on Christmas Eve which means you get to fly around Gotham as snow falls. If it wasn't for all the Joker-related murder it would be pretty dang beautiful. Is it the weakest of the Arkham series? Of course it is. But it's also the Arkham game with the most yuletide spirit. Alfred even makes you Christmas dinner! Are you saying you wouldn't want to have Christmas dinner with Alfred? Because that sounds like something that could get you a Batarang to the teeth.
Overwatch
You might think we've merely including Overwatch on this list due to its annual Winter Wonderland event, which is partially correct. The skins that come out each year are delightful, although we somehow still haven't gotten a Solder: 76 ugly Christmas sweater skin after all these years. Come on Blizzard, that's just money being left on the table.
But the real reason we're putting Overwatch on the list is that its lootboxes are the closest thing to the process of receiving presents that any game can provide. All that build-up for opening one of these digital gifts and hoping for that Junkrat skin you've always wanted, only to receive three sprays and a voice line for Bastion. Much like in real life, Overwatch gives you present upon present for you to get excited about only to get nothing you want, thus leading to that familiar sense of Christmas morning disappointment. It's like they programmed the feeling of getting socks from your Grandma into a first-person shooter.
Dead Rising
When you think of the holidays you might think of family, love, togetherness, and peace on Earth. You might think that, but more than likely you're actually thinking about the trips to the mall you have to take to get the things you can't find on Amazon and the massive amounts of money you're about to spend on gifts for people that you can only stand seeing once a year.
If the wanton consumerism of Christmas has you feeling down, then Dead Rising is the ultimate cure for your holiday blues. There's no better catharsis for the stress of shopping than running through a mall full of zombies with a chainsaw and watching the blood spill all over the various kiosks and clothing stores. So if you're still thinking about that bozo who managed to swipe the last yellow Nintendo Switch Lite out from under you, take out your frustration by whacking some undead mall patrons with a frying pan.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Winter can be a lovely time of year, as long as you don't have to leave your house. The snowfalls and shimmering ice are beautiful, but having to put on seven layers of clothes just to check your mail kind of ruins the majesty of the season. That's why it's nice to boot up the wintery world of Skyrim, as you can traverse across snowy peaks and icy caves without having to worry about hypothermia or frostbite.
As an added bonus, you can mod the heck out of the game to make it feel as festive as you'd like. So wear a Santa suit of armor, grab your wand that casts explosive presents, summon a flying reindeer to ride, and give the gift of cheese wheels to every citizen of Whiterun.
Resident Evil 7
Family is a big part of the holidays, which is a double-edged sword. Having your relatives over can be a nice way to catch up with them and see how they're all doing. It also means you need to hear Aunt Harriet talk about her excruciating bunion surgery and listen to Uncle Marty's views on politics that can charitably be described as antiquated. While being around relatives can be enough to make you want to shove candy canes into your ears to cease the endless noise, it can always be worse. Like for example, your family could be The Bakers from Resident Evil 7.
Your family dinners may be interminably long, awkward, uncomfortable gauntlets of turkey and terror, but at least they're not actively trying to kill you or feed you human flesh (at least we hope they're not.) Playing Resident Evil 7 is a good way to contextualize the awfulness of your loved ones, and may even help you appreciate that no matter how annoying Cousin Nelson's laugh is or how hideous Grandma Gertrude's collection of facial moles are, nothing is as bad as being stuck in the bayou fighting immortal swamp people.
No matter what you play this season, we at TheGamer hope you have a very happy holiday, or at the very least, we hope you have enough games to get you through to the new year.