When it comes to TV specials and films, Christmas fans are given a lot to be entertained by. That isn’t the case for video games. There have not been many games centered on Christmas or even set around the holiday. Most games that do have some Christmas themes only have selective levels.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is a great example as Sora and the gang travel to Christmas Town. It’s a great place to play to get into the holiday spirit, but the whole world should only take a couple of hours at max. Other games with fun Christmas levels include Hitman: Blood Money, Bully, and Persona 5. Are there any games or DLCs out there with full Christmas settings? Let’s find out.

Updated on November 29, 2023, by Mark Sammut: The holiday season is right around the corner, so this is the perfect time to play some Christmas games. In the grand scheme of things, not all that many titles attach their stories to this time period, and the ones that do might not underline it; however, there are still some good options out there.

12 Viscera Cleanup Detail: Santa's Rampage

Metacritic User Score: 6.0

Viscera Cleanup Detail is a fun title where players need to clean up the bloody aftermath of battles against aliens and other such lifeforms. The game was a surprise hit and received two DLCs that allowed players to clean up even more gore-filled areas!

One such DLC was called Santa's Rampage and gives players the task of cleaning up a particularly festive murder carried out by a not-so-jolly man. It's a ridiculous concept that ends up being a ton of fun to execute, and players who want to get into the spirit of Christmas in a rather eccentric manner should give this game a shot!

11 Shenmue

Metascore: 88

Shenmue is one of the most influential games of all time, with its release on the Sega Dreamcast being a high-profile and expensive affair. This impressive attempt at an open-world game where players can genuinely live out their lives as Ryo is a ton of fun once players get into the unique nature of this title.

For what it's worth, Shenmue isn't totally set around Christmas, but the festival itself is captured with such brilliance that it's well worth experiencing in itself. Just try not to waste too much time reaching this holiday, since the game will forcefully give players a bad ending if they end up faffing about till the middle of April.

10 Saints Row 4: How The Saints Save Christmas

Metacritic User Score: 8.5

Saints Row 4 is one of the best open-world games around in terms of sheer fun factor. Messing around with superpowers is a blast in the base game, and this gameplay loop receives a festive touch with the How the Saints Save Christmas DLC.

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The idea of saving Santa from a simulation while mustering the Christmas cheer required to make this holiday fun again is a ridiculous concept that only Saints Row 4 could pull off. The DLC is a short and sweet experience with its fair share of memorable moments.

9 Bayonetta 2

Metacritic: 91

Bayonetta 2 takes place sometime around Christmas, although no exact dates are given. The game opens up with Bayonetta buying a bunch of presents and making her servant/sidekick Enzo carry them all. It’s a fun way to introduce Bayonetta 2 but that’s where the Christmas essence of the game stops.

Players could consider the very idea of fighting angels on or around Christmas to be a theme. Most Christmas stories tend to make angels good though. Bayonetta 2, in this way, can be praised for subverting expectations. More importantly, the Nintendo exclusive is a stylish and awesome hack-and-slash game that takes its predecessor's fundamentals and adds a touch of accessibility to the action.

8 Daze Before Christmas

Metascore: N/A

Daze Before Christmas is one of the few games out there that makes Santa a star. Just before he is about to go around the world to deliver Christmas presents, an evil devil version of himself steals them all. The game is a basic platformer from the 90s, so expectations should be kept fairly low for this one.

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It’s almost impossible to buy a legitimate copy nowadays, but there might be ways around that. Even though the game isn’t one of the classics, it’s still worth looking into for the novel idea. It would be interesting to see it appear on the retro service for the Switch.

7 Dead Rising 4

Metacritic: 72

Dead Rising 4 technically takes place after Christmas. However, since the city was abandoned around the holiday, all the decorations are still up; consequently, the game has an unmistakable Christmas feel.

The juxtaposition between the cheery holiday spirit and Frank West tearing through bloody corpses is great. Overall, this entry is generally regarded as the weakest in Capcom's Dead Rising series, and it might prove to be the last considering the lack of discourse surrounding a fifth entry. Nevertheless, the game still offers mindless fun, and while this version of Frank is a steep departure from his earlier incarnation, he still produces a few funny lines.

6 Batman: Arkham Origins

Metacritic: 76

Batman: Arkham Origins reuses the same map as Arkham City, albeit with a Christmas-themed makeover and a few tweaks that fit the prequel's setting. These seemingly minor changes actually make a notable difference, and they give the spin-off game a charming and eerie atmosphere that sets it apart from the mainline entries. On Christmas Eve, Gotham City becomes a war zone as eight assassins are hired by Black Mask to take out Batman, who is still a rookie hero by this point in his career.

Generally regarded as the black sheep of the proper console entries, Arkham Origins is still a very good action-adventure game by most metrics, even if it does not quite reach the same heights as Arkham Asylum or Arkham City. The story is fine, and Gotham City only looks better in Arkham Knight​​​​​​.

5 Yakuza

Metascore: 890 (Yakuza 0)

While not always emphasized, a number of Yakuza games are set around Christmas, a time period that oddly fits the franchise's slightly cheesy but always awesome style of storytelling. The holiday season is little more than a backdrop in games like Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami, but that is not the case in every entry.

Yakuza 5 has a substory that sees Saejima dress up as Santa to take on a group of thugs who specialize in hunting the jolly character, and this is hardly the only side quest that references Christmas directly. Sega's franchise is not synonymous with Christmas since the games basically do not bring it up in their central plots, but Yakuza is still a great fit for the festive season.

4 Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Metacritic: N/A

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is one of the more forgotten entries in Konami's series, and it didn't launch in the West during its original run. Nowadays, the game is available courtesy of a few collections, but it is still utterly overshadowed by its predecessor and the far more popular Metal Gear Solid projects.

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It sees the titular Solid Snake travel to Zanzibarland on Christmas Eve to stop a nuclear mech attack once again. Zanzibarland might sound familiar as it is referenced quite often in Metal Gear Solid. Although obviously showing its age, Metal Gear 2 was still a notable release for the stealth genre, and it has very similar gameplay to the first MGS.

3 Tom Clancy’s The Division

Metacritic: 80

Tom Clancy’s The Division has a similar setting to Dead Rising 4. Everyone was gearing up for the holidays after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, when a virus broke out in New York City. The government tried to contain it as best as possible, but the city eventually became a lawless zone.

Players are sent in as an elite special ops force, The Division, around the holidays to bring back order. It may not technically be Christmas, but the decorations are still there and the snowy city is as inviting as ever, even if it is infested with a deadly disease. Nowadays, The Division is hard to recommend due to the existence of its superior sequel; however, the game holds up well enough as a third-person shooter with a cool setting.

2 Parasite Eve

Metacritic: 81

Parasite Eve takes place around Christmas Eve. It’s one of the best RPGs from the 90s that combines the best parts of Final Fantasy and Resident Evil together. Players assume the role of detective Aya Brea.

She attends the opera one night only to find everyone, except her, erupting in flames. Now she has to find the source, kill the mutations, and save Christmas. It takes place in New York City, which is an all-time classic place for a Christmas setting, even for a horror RPG.

1 Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Metacritic: 85

Spider-Man: Miles Morales is another superhero game that takes place around Christmas. It’s also set in New York City, just like Parasite Eve. The story centers on Miles making his way home from school to spend time with friends and family over the holidays. Unfortunately, evil has another plan for the new spider-hero.

Miles has to protect his home turf alone as Peter is away dealing with other issues. This game serves as a good introduction to Miles in general, not only establishing his backstory but also setting him apart from Peter Parker. It’s a shorter campaign next to Marvel’s Spider-Man, and it reuses a lot of assets, but it is still an outstanding experience. The spin-off also improves the combat and traversal mechanics ever so slightly, to the point of eclipsing its meatier predecessor in a few key areas. Any players looking to play Marvel's Spider-Man 2 should not skip this spin-off.

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