How do you like to spend your festive season?
Grabbing a mulled wine at a Christmas market’s great fun. Creating paper chains with your family is a cosy activity. Maybe you like baking gingerbread men, or wrapping presents while watching the latest festive film.
At Zatu, we like to revisit old video game worlds that are sure to get us into the Christmas spirit.
Want to know how to get into the merry mood this season? Here’s some of our favourite pixelated treats for this winter.
Pokémon Crystal – Lauren Skinner
Finding a Lapras in Union Cave on a Friday. Listening to Buena’s Password Show to get prizes in the evening. Defeating the Kimono Girls with their incredibly strong Eeveelutions. And, of course, chasing the elusive, mystical Suicune across Johto, hoping for a glimpse as it skims the waves or hides amongst the berry trees.
Pokémon Crystal. The very first single player game I ever got as a child has firmly Wurmple’d its way into my life. And that pure nostalgia means cracking it out every Christmas.
Listening to the homey sounds of New Bark Town as I visit the Pokémon Lab brings a unique warmth to my very mature, very adult self—even getting kicked to the curb by a certain very angry ginger doesn’t dampen the spirit for me. Azalea Town and Ecruteak City also never fail to bring the traditional, magical vibes that this very special region gives me without fail.
I could tell you how to cross Johto with my eyes closed. This means that I can pop on The Muppet Christmas Carol on the TV with a couple scented candles and a Bailey’s-spiked hot chocolate while I make my way to the top of the Olivine Lighthouse. The whole setting, topped with the twinkling Christmas lights on my tree and the roar of the Red Gyarados at the Lake of Rage, is so festive and cosy to me that I look forward to it every year.
If you want to get really festive, then you should time your seasonal sessions to include a trip from Mahogany Town to Blackthorn City. Imagine sitting inside with the heating on, curled up on your sofa, watching snowflakes falling outside your window, all whilst slipping and sliding your way through Ice Path. What could be better?
Planet Zoo – Sophie Jones
A game that always brings me back during the Christmas period has to be Planet Zoo. I usually treat myself to one of the expansion packs in the winter sale, and every year I set myself the same challenge: build a Christmas Zoo. If you haven’t made one yet, I can’t recommend it enough.
Planet Zoo is a brilliant simulation game where you create and run your own zoo from the ground up. You build habitats, manage staff and finances, invest in conservation projects and design hundreds of assets to keep your animals and guests happy. It’s easy to lose hours making something you’re genuinely proud of.
This year’s Christmas Zoo is my most ambitious yet, borrowing from winter tales and festive traditions across the world. One area is inspired by Bethlehem, complete with a nativity barn and a walk-through exhibit featuring donkeys, goats and more. Further along the main street you’ll find camels, scarab beetles and even a bat cave for guests to explore.
Across the map sits the complete opposite: the North Pole. There are candy canes, reindeer, a snow train and everything you’d expect from a modern Christmas theme. In between the two zones are penguin habitats, a Bavarian Forest filled with German-style markets and plenty of other winter touches.
How could I not return to this game every December? And whoever created that hot chocolate stand on the Steam Workshop, you’re a legend. It fits perfectly in my festive zoo.
Final Fantasy VII – Paul Blyth
I’m not sure that a sprawling, genre-defining RPG with one of the saddest deaths in gaming history can really be called “cosy”, but here we are.
I first played Final Fantasy VII on the original PlayStation in HMV, back when headphones hung from walls with a selection of that week’s releases available to listen to. For the release of FFVII, they put out a PlayStation so people could give it a go. After watching someone fail to escape the first reactor and call the game “stupid”, I got my turn and was instantly captivated. My Mum got it there and then for me on the condition that it went away until Christmas.
Two months is a long time to wait for a 15-year-old, but after lengthy chore & homework negotiations I was allowed to have the first disc in advance. I played it daily and when I reached the “insert disc two” screen, I immediately started over on a new save… twice. On my fourth restart I trained the team that would be going into disc two. I found Yuffie, unlocked Vincent, grabbed Cloud’s final Limit Break in Gold Saucer and levelled up for literal days in the Wutai region. By the time Christmas Day came around and I got the other two discs, every character was at least level 75.
The rest of the story blew my mind with so many standout moments. Granted, my team wiped the floor with every boss, and by the end of Boxing Day I was on the final boss. But it was an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish. So much so that every year I like to play through it again—something made much easier with the releases on modern consoles allowing for 3x speed.
Sure, I’ve also played both FFVII Remake and Rebirth (got the Platinum trophy on Remake for both PS4 and PS5, thank you very much). But nothing is as special to me than the original. I still smile as I play even after all these years (and playthroughs). It’s a game that makes me happy… except when Red XIII finds out the truth about his father, which gets me every time. And playing it with my children as the nights get colder and darker is something magical that 15-year-old me in HMV could never have imagined.
Cronos: The New Dawn – Sophie Jones
Horror might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think about Christmas, but there’s something surprisingly cosy about it. Perhaps it’s because I’m tucked up warm with a hot chocolate, fighting monsters on screen and feeling thankful I’m not in the Traveler’s shoes.
If you’re like me and enjoy something darker for the holidays, Cronos is an excellent choice. Despite its grim focus on humanity’s collapse after an outbreak, the game is unmistakably set at Christmas. Snow-covered streets, decorated flats, and even a tense showdown in a Christmas market give the world a winter charm that feels far from inviting.
As you explore the empty streets, it’s striking to see Christmas trees glowing in windows and fairy lights still draped across abandoned homes. Going back in time makes this even more poignant: the same places, once full of life and festive cheer, now feel eerily empty. These warm touches bring a real sadness to the story and make the moments of danger feel sharper, constantly reminding you of everything that’s been lost.
Cronos isn’t just about its backdrop, though. Exploration, tight corridors, and strategic combat work together to build constant tension, whilst its sound design keeps you listening for every creak and shuffle. It’s the sort of game where you pause for a breath not because you want to, but because you need to. The story pulls you in too, always nudging you forward to uncover the next shocking revelation.
It’s a modern festive horror that feels both familiar and fresh. Bloober Team have crafted a winter adventure that draws from the classics while confidently standing on its own, with steady combat, strong pacing, and a satisfying upgrade system. With its New Game+ mode and trophies to collect, Cronos practically demands another playthrough. Next Christmas is already sorted.
Until Dawn – Lauren Skinner
Much like Sophie, I’m also a horror fanatic at Christmas!
Whilst Until Dawn isn’t set at Christmas, you’d be forgiven for thinking so. A year after their friends die in tragic circumstances, 8 friends revisit the scene of the crime: a remote mountain getaway, where the Washington family lodge boasts wooden chalet architecture, rustic winter décor, and warm fireplaces (even if they aren’t lit yet).
The gameplay often involves shuffling through deep snow trails, fighting through blizzards, traipsing through frosty forests, and frozen lakes and cliffs. The characters wear parkas, beanies, gloves and winter boots, reflecting and emphasising the push and pull we often feel at Christmas: it’s chilly and dark and sometimes miserable, but where there’s darkness, there’s light in the cosy, festive feelings promised by a warm blanket and your loved ones settling in to see out the storm.
And the ambient noises—oh, they’re so good. I love the delicious crunch of snow underfoot as the kids explore the mountain. The wind howls through the trees. The shrieks of the unknown echoing through the forest—wait, that’s not very festive. Ah well.
There are parts of the story that give you the relief that you need during the winter and the festive season. A girl sinking into a steaming bath, fighting the chill. A couple lighting a fire to snuggle down together in the warmth. Characters passing occasional string lights in the lodge hinting at humanity keeping the winter weather at bay. The glittering blue snow, lit by the moon.
Then, of course, there are the spooks. It’s like The Nightmare Before Christmas: Halloween and Christmas all rolled into one, with jump scares, getting lost underground, and the horror of being snowed into an isolated cabin in a remote location.
If you’re looking for the ultimate non-cosy festive replay, this is it!
Wrap up
And there you have it! Will you indulge in a nostalgic story you’ve played to death? Or will you settle down with a hot chocolate by the light of your Christmas tree and give yourself a good old fright this festive season?
Whatever your preference, we Zatu video gamers wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
