| (Images property of Sega, IO Interactive, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Marvel and Sony Interactive Entertainment and ConcernedApe) But what do we play?! Like Christmas movies, Christmas games so often feel like cheap knockoffs and shovel-ware designed to cash in on the good will of confused grandparents and players who've had one too many glasses of wine with their turkey. Well, you'll be pleased to know that I have compiled a list of games that are both festive and fun to save you from the likes of Terror in Christmas Town and Elf Bowling 3 that might be hiding under your tree. Yakuza: Kiwami & Kiwami 2 Christmas can mean many things to many people. For some it's about family. For some it's about gifts. For others it's about beating a shirtless Japanese man with one eye into the curb using a giant traffic cone. Believe it or not, despite being ostensibly games about organised crime in the seedy underworld of Tokyo, the remakes of the original two Yakuza games, Kiwami and Kiwami 2, are both set during the holiday season.  | | (Image property of Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) Like most themes and settings that Yakuza works with, Kiwami and Kiwami 2 both tackle Christmas with the series' characteristic mixture of stone-cold seriousness crossed with surreal lunacy. While it is disappointing that neither game includes any carols as part of their elaborate karaoke mini-games, there are plenty of references to the holiday season. At one point in Kiwami 2, there is a memorable side mission involving accosting people wearing red on the street to ask if they are Santa Claus before, in most cases, treating them to a knuckle sandwich instead of the traditional milk and cookies.  | | (Image property of Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) Despite these references though, for the most part, Christmas simply forms the backdrop to the games' intertwining tales of conspiracy, crime and half-naked knife fights. However, for those of you that prefer to keep things low-key during the holiday season, the Kiwami games offer a great opportunity to soak in a subtly Christmassy atmosphere while also enjoying some of the series' most exciting and chaotic moments. For what the Kiwami games miss out on in Christmassiness, they more than make up for in fist-fighting Bengal tigers. Hitman: World of Assassination or Blood Money From one loose interpretation of the holiday spirit to another, a series whose holiday credentials may take you by surprise is the Hitman series. The world of high profile assassination may not be the most outwardly festive by nature but, across its decades-long history the series has offered a wide variety of opportunities for players to get involved in Christmas-centric activities.  | | (Image property of IO Interactive) If you're less interested in the holiday atmosphere and want to be more directly involved in spreading holiday cheer in your Christmassy gaming, I suggest the Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy. Amongst a wide variety of costumes including everything from sous chefs to giant pink flamingos, the game is more than happy enough to allow players to dress up as good ole Saint Nick for their murderous missions. The game may not offer many opportunities to spread good will as Father Christmas but if you're looking to simulate the Santa experience then you can always pretend that the kitchen knives that you're throwing into the backs of targets' heads are gifts being delivered to grateful family members. You might end up on a list for it but you're free to do so!  | | (Image property of Eidos Interactive and IO Interactive) By contrast, if you're of more of a Grinchish disposition then Hitman: Blood Money is the game for you. In the mission "You Better Watch Out..." players are tasked with assassinating a pornography tycoon at an elaborate Christmas party in the snowy Rocky Mountains. This presents a unique chance for players seeking to take out some frustration on the holiday season as half of the guards in the level are dressed in red suits and Santa hats. As such, players have ample opportunities to murder their way through a hoard of Santa Clauses, making it perfect for anyone that heard Mariah Carey on the radio just one too many times and thinks that they're finally about to snap. Stardew Valley Setting aside the more murderous examples of Christmas through gaming, where else can we look for a wholesome, cosy experience this holiday season than to the king of cosy games, Stardew Valley. Light farming sims are a pretty safe bet for anyone looking to play something with that wholesome family vibe that is so sought-after around Christmas time.  | | (Image property of ConcernedApe) While it might take a little bit of set-up on your part by playing through the first few seasons of the game in advance, Stardew Valley's winter season contains more than enough opportunities to get into the holiday mood. During winter, the ground is too frozen to farm which gives you more than enough time to hang out with the various animals in your stables as well as your closest and fondest characters in the Stardew cast.  | | (Image property of ConcernedApe) This all culminates at the end of the season with the "Feast of the Winter Star" which is Stardew Valley's analogous winter holiday when all of the characters come together to celebrate the year that they've had together. While it is all just another cosy part of an already cosy game, winter in Stardew Valley really highlights the importance of taking a step back and reconnecting with what is important during the colder months which, if you're someone who isn't much of a fan of the holiday season, can give you a comfortable reprieve once you're away from family and friends. Spider-Man: Miles Morales In many ways, Spider-Man: Miles Morales forms a close comparison with the Yakuza series when it comes to how it treats the holiday season. Throughout Miles's journey of learning about loss and how to be a better Spider-Man, snow falls and tinsel and Christmas trees litter New York City's streets but the holiday season never takes centre stage in any meaningful way throughout the story.  | | (Image property of Marvel, Insomniac Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment) However, while the game doesn't do a lot with its setting from a narrative perspective, it more than makes up for it with its atmosphere. Swinging through New York's streets already felt excellent in Marvel's Spider-Man but being able to do the same in winter lends it a completely different feel that serves to put you in the mood for a warm fireplace and some hot chocolate as you watch Miles tumble through the air across Central Park.  | | (Image property of Marvel, Insomniac Games and Sony Interactive Entertainment) What's more, the game offers a fairly compelling, if slightly predictable, story to keep you motivated along with a slew of new suits for Miles to wear as he dive-kicks his way through New York's underworld. That being said, nothing fits the holiday season more than the Winter Suit which adorns Miles's standard uniform with a fluffy hat, earmuffs and a scarf just to make sure that he doesn't get too chilly in his skin-tight spandex. Batman: Arkham Origins Yes, yes, I know. Not one but two superhero sandbox games on one single list seems like a little bit of a waste but, in my defence, Batman: Arkham Origins is not only a great Christmas game in its own right, it might be the most Christmassy game on this list. Set during the early years of Batman's career, the game follows the Caped Crusader as he fends off a series of eight assassins sent to kill him on the night of Christmas Eve.  | | (Image property of WB Games Montreal and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) While the game doesn't exactly the story of how Batman saved Christmas, there are frequent and numerous reminders that the events take place during the holiday season from thugs in Christmas hats to giant Christmas trees and even a sequence where the Joker opens a series of presents that will make you wish that someone just got him socks instead.  | | (Image property of WB Games Montreal and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) The only downside really is that Arkham Origins is stranded on the PS3 and Xbox 360 thanks to it being the only game in the series developed by WB Montreal meaning that Origins has been left out of every Arkham re-release since its conception. That being said, if you do still have access to a PS3 or 360, the game offers a festive spirit alongside numerous opportunities to give the gift of broken limbs to countless Gotham goons that have the misfortune of getting in your way. Conclusion Hopefully then, I've been able to provide you with some ideas of what to occupy yourself with this holiday season as we all start to shrink away from the outside world in favour of smothering ourselves in wrapping paper and gravy. Over the next few weeks in the run-up to Christmas it's important to give yourself the valuable rest that you need and, no matter what, not to succumb to the allure of the cheap holiday-themed cash grab. I do hope that, no matter what you are playing, this time of your proves to be a warm, comfortable and restful one for anyone ready this. All property names and images belong to their respective rights holders and are utilised here for the purpose of criticism and review.
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