Deck the games with boughs of holly, for t’is the season to be jolly in all your favourite ongoing games—the Christmas and winter seasonal events are in full swing as the end of the year approaches.
It feels like just about every currently-updating game tries to get in the spirit (and rake in some microtransactions). With so many special festive offerings, it can all start to blur together, so we’ve put together a list of some of our favourite celebrations amongst this Christmas’ crop.
5) Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Gift of Giving
Over the years Disney has certainly carved out a niche for itself in the Christmas holiday scene, through classic animations like Mickey’s Christmas Carol, December movie releases that are perfect for family outings, or the special seasonal festivities in its theme park. So it’s fitting that some of that holiday magic should pop up in Disney Dreamlight Valley, its Animal Crossing-esque cozy sim.
From December 18-31, players can take part in Festive Duties from previous years, as well as the new Build A Snowman event, which starts with a red chest near Chez Remy. The Premium Shop is also chock full of winter- or Christmas-themed items, like an inflatable Mickey or a Festive light look for your home. This goes hand-in-hand with the current Star Path (i.e. season pass), Frost And Fairies, full of magically icy items that would make Elsa jealous.
There will also be seven gifts beneath the Dream Castle’s tree starting on December 25, including seasonal items and motifs. And lastly, players who have unlocked Jack Skellington can give him some company with the new quest, The Woven Bridge, which culminates with her moving into Jack’s house.
4) Hello Kitty Island Adventure: Lighttime Jubilee
Hello Kitty Island Adventure is celebrating one last Christmas as an Apple Arcade exclusive, before it heads to PC and Nintendo Switch next year.
Where once it existed only as a gag on South Park, Hello Kitty Island Adventure surprised us as a cozy game fix on iOS devices, and the holiday season is a perfect match for its bright and cheery atmosphere. Its annual Give & Gather event has been underway since November 24 and will run until December 29, but naturally, the Christmas presents can’t actually be opened until December 25.
Like many other events in this game, giving gifts to your fellow islanders is paramount. Each day Cinnamoroll asks the player to choose one neighbour to give a special, character-specific gift to, and their reward is a present of their own, placed under the communal “Present Pine.” (Cinnamoroll will also help players catch up if they’ve missed a couple of days.) 2024’s clothing items include a Santa-like Holiday Coat and snowman apparel, while the furniture options, like Dreamlight Valley, look like something out of Elsa’s IKEA catalogue.
Poinsettias grow in the wild during this time, too, but don’t let Hello Kitty nibble on them—they’re toxic to cats. But then again, she’s apparently not actually a cat, so maybe it’s okay?
3) Fortnite: Winterfest 2024
Nowadays, if you can name a meme, chances are that Epic Games has or will find a way to incorporate it into Fortnite. With this year’s Christmas event, it’s Mariah Carey’s time to shine, as the running cultural joke about the inevitability and oversaturation of her hit single “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has taken centre stage at the kickoff for this year’s Winterfest event.
True to the game’s current focus on Fortnite Festival, there’s a strong current of musical items running through this year’s gifts in the holiday Lodge. The grand finale is the Yulejacket outfit, a seasonal skin, which only opens after you’ve opened all the other gifts. Those include a typical array of seasonal back blings, pickaxes, sprays, and now instruments and jam tracks as well. Later in Winterfest, the “Santa Dogg” skin will unlock as a second free skin.
In the meantime, the event is a great incentive to log in occasionally, be it just to unwrap a couple items, or to partake in the time-limited quests for heaps of XP. Be sure to visit Mariah on the map during Battle Royales as well, where she can heal players who emote with her, now that she’s literally thawed out of a block of ice in-game. If that’s not enough, you can also buy her skins and emotes in the shop, but try not to torture random players with her jingle too much—you never know who else in the lobby might be a retail employee who’s already heard it too much this season.
2) Marvel Rivals: Winter Celebration
Not content to simply launch in December and take the industry by storm with record player numbers, Marvel Rivals didn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the Christmas season with their Winter Celebration event.
It’s also capitalizing on the popularity of Jeff the Land Shark, one of its breakout stars, with the new mode, Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival. Players can step into his paws(?) to spray snowflakes and transform Yggsgard’s Royal Palace into… well, something that Elsa would approve of, once again.
There are also missions to complete a commemorative Gallery Card, called Season’s Beatings, and of course, a slew of holiday-themed skins in the shop. Jeff, Groot, Rocket, Magik, and Venom each get snowy or Santa-themed outfits (though Venom’s Snow Symbiote might just be my favourite). Jeff’s is free with login, while the others will be featured at various times.
1) Astro Bot: Winter Wonder
Whether it was a coincidence or not, Astro Bot received a new Christmas-themed level on the same day it won Game of the Year at the Game Awards, and it’s the perfect gift for fans of the plucky, robotic mascot.
The level, “Winter Wonder,” is a huge sandbox encapsulating all the best things about the game’s level design. If you seek to obtain all its treasures (and why wouldn’t you?), you’ll utilize all of Astro’s tools and put your platforming skills to a decent test to unlock new themed skins and another batch of mascot bots.
I couldn’t help grinning like an idiot the entire time I was playing the level, or cheering aloud as I unlocked three of the bots I’ve long wanted to see in the game. For players who unwrap Astro Bot over the holidays, this Christmas celebration will be a perfect chaser after they complete the base game and unlock it—and a perfect reminder of why Team Asobi’s new adventure deserved its crown.
Best of all, it’s another free infusion of content for Astro, in a world where most devs would want to bleed a couple of bucks from us for the privilege of some Christmas-themed warm-and-fuzzies.
