Just like I did with Halloween, I thought I would make a list with some games that may put you in the holiday mood. This list will be filled with some full games that are Christmas-themed while others are just levels inside non-Christmas games. I will also throw in some of my favorite winter-themed levels at the end as well since they are always better to play when it’s cold outside.
Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Origins is almost like the Die Hard of gaming by having a setting of Christmas Eve, but the game itself isn’t overly Christmas related. As you soar across Gotham City, you will find Christmas lights amongst the snowy ground and rooftops. Perhaps the most memorable aspect is the classic Christmas music that you will hear as you play through the game. I know this is one game I’ll be playing tonight.
Donkey Kong Country 3
This game on the surface may make you wonder why in the world I put it on a Christmas list, but it’s a secret code that gets it on this list. By pressing L, R, R, L, R, R, L, R, L, R at the game select menu, then entering MERRY, you can turn all of your bonus games into Christmas bonus games. This adds Christmas music to each of these as well as changing any collectibles to ornaments or presents. I always find myself pulling this one out to play each Christmas with my sister like we did as kids.
Kingdom Hearts II – Halloween Town
The name for this stage may confuse those that haven’t played the series, but your visit to Halloween Town in Kingdom Hearts II brings you to Christmas Town. This time around, Jack Skellington joins in on the fun again, but now he wants to become Santa. The group heads to Christmas Town to investigate the return of the heartless to the world. Across your two visits to this world, you must help to save Santa and Christmas as a whole.
Banjo Kazooie – Freezeezy Peak
Another game that also appeared on my Halloween list is Banjo Kazooie and with one of the most memorable Christmas and winter themed stages I’ve played, there was no way it couldn’t be on this list. Freezeezy Peak is one large icy stage with a giant snowman in the middle. You will come across a mini-game that you must complete for a Jiggy, where you must let Christmas tree lights reach the tree itself by destroying the enemies in the pathway.
Christmas Nights
Christmas Nights is perhaps the strangest entry on this list based on the way it was distributed. Rather than just being a level in a game or even a code to access, Christmas Nights was a remixed version of the first two levels of Nights into Dreams that was given away alongside some Sega Saturn titles as well as in some magazines. The level was eventually made playable in the remake for Nights into Dreams on PS2 and the HD release of Nights into Dreams for PSN, XBLA, and Steam.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
This one is of course based on the second and last good Home Alone movie. It may pale in comparison to the quality of the other games on this list, but I still had a lot of fun with this game as a kid, and it’s a pretty faithful following of the movie itself. There is also a game for the first movie, but I was always more partial to the sequel.
