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 December 4, 2024, by Mark Sammut: The 2024 holiday season has arrived, and Christmas is just a few weeks away. While featuring heavily in movies, this period does not tend to get as much mileage in video games, especially since the industry tends to slow down its release during the second half of December. Still, games set during Christmas have their place, and some are pretty great. A sequel to a beloved movie has been added as a recommendation, along with galleries for each game.
While a game's reputation will be taken into account, its Christmas spirit will also impact the ranking.
13 Special Mention: Dead Rising 4
Out Of Season But Still Christmas
Dead Rising 4
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.
12 Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
The Holiday Is Not Relevant To The Story, But It Is Set During Christmas
Metal Gear 2
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.
11 Bayonetta 2
An Awesome Hack And Slash Game Set Around Christmas, Although The Holiday Is Not Referenced All That Much
Bayonetta 2
- Released
- October 24, 2014
- Developer(s)
- Platinum Games
- Platform(s)
- Switch, Nintendo Wii U
- Genre(s)
- Action
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.
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Players could consider the very idea of fighting angels on or around Christmas to be a theme, even if most 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 hack-and-slash game that takes its predecessor's fundamentals and adds a touch of accessibility to the action.
10 Viscera Cleanup Detail: Santa's Rampage
A Dark Comedy Game About Santa Being Pushed Well Beyond His Breaking Point
Viscera Cleanup Detail: Santa's Rampage
- Released
- December 13, 2013
- Developer(s)
- RuneStorm
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
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!
9 Shenmue
Set During December And Featuring Some Christmas Spirit
Shenmue
- Released
- December 29, 1999
- Developer(s)
- Sega
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, Sega Dreamcast, Xbox One
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
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.
8 Daze Before Christmas
Santa Gets A Lot Of Work To Do In A Pretty Hard Classic Platformer
Daze Before Christmas
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.
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 Yakuza
While Not 100% Consistent, Quite A Few Yakua Games Are Set Around Christmas
Yakuza 5
- Released
- December 8, 2015
- Developer(s)
- Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
While not always emphasized, several 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.
6 Saints Row 4: How The Saints Save Christmas
A Silly Christmas Romp With The Saints
Saints Row 4
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.
5 The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge
Jack Skellington Has To Save Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge
- Released
- October 10, 2005
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Platform(s)
- PS2, Xbox (Original)
The Nightmare Before Christmas is an all-time classic movie and a staple of both Halloween and Christmas. 2005's Oogie's Revenge effectively acts as a sequel to the original release, delivering a new story that sees Jack Skellington having to (once again) stop Oogie Boogie from taking over Halloween Town and a bunch of holidays, with Christmas taking center stage.
Developed by Capcom, Oogie's Revenge does not hide its inspiration. The game takes more than a few pages from Devil May Cry's playbook, which is a fairly surprising direction to take a project set in this universe. That said, this release is delightful enough as an introductory hack-and-slash title featuring recognizable characters. The combat can seem a bit half-baked at times, but it is generally enjoyable; meanwhile, the setting is the star of the show.
4 Tom Clancy’s The Division
Hey, Not Every Christmas Game Needs To Be Cheery
Tom Clancy’s The Division
- Released
- March 8, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Massive Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Open-World
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.