When the festive season comes around, many gamers turn to new consoles and game franchises to keep them entertained in the long winter months. However, Christmas doesn’t always include shiny new toys. One of the best ways to spend the season is revisiting those magical movie classics that define childhood, and there are more ways to do that than just rewatching them.
While there are many underrated Christmas movies, there are also plenty of underrated Christmas games that tie into them. If players dust off their old consoles, they might find quite a few familiar Christmas titles hiding in those collections.
10 The Grinch
Based on the iconic 2000s Christmas classic starring Jim Carrey, The Grinch follows players as they work to recover blueprints from around Whoville that the mean green Grinch has lost. These blueprints, once collected, unlock evil gadgets that help the Grinch in his task of destroying Christmas.
Along the way, the Grinch must destroy presents, evade Whos, and work together with his dog Max to get through various obstacles. The Grinch was originally released in 2000 on the PlayStation, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, and PC.
9 A Christmas Carol
One of the most well-known Christmas franchises is A Christmas Carol, which has seen several remakes since the first in 1938. In 2009, Disney released its computer-animated version of the story along with a tie-in game for the Nintendo DS.
The game, also titled A Christmas Carol, is mostly a point-and-click adventure that mirrors the plot of the film. Although, there are some minigames woven throughout, such as slide puzzles, coin tossing games, or the segment where players make various Christmas foods.
8 Arthur Christmas: Elf Run
The 2011 animated film Arthur Christmas features a star-studded voice cast and has become fairly popular in Christmas movie lists around the world. In the same year, Arthur Christmas creators released a mobile game featuring elements from the movie’s plotline. Arthur Christmas: Elf Run was released both for free and as a premium download and is a side-scrolling adventure primarily aimed at kids.
The game allows players to control the high-tech delivery elves as they deliver Christmas presents to children around the world. Much like the film, the game feels like a spy adventure and provides an interesting take on the magic of Christmas.
7 The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
One of the most iconic Christmas film franchises is The Santa Clause, which has spawned three major films and upcoming limited series on Disney+. Alongside the third film in the series, a tie-in game was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2006.
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is a simple platforming game that relies heavily on players existing knowledge of the characters for the cutscenes. The game’s protagonist is Scott Calvin, who uses his Santa magic to jump, double jump, or glide through levels.
6 Elf: The Movie
Elf starring Will Ferrell is one of the most recognizable Christmas movies ever made. Though there were rumors of a second movie, ultimately Elf remains a standalone classic. However, a year after the movie’s release Elf was adapted into a platform game for the Game Boy Advance.
Titled Elf: The Movie, the game allows players to navigate the North Pole and New York City as Buddy the Christmas elf. Along the way, Buddy must collect things like candy and Christmas lights, as well as avoid obstacles that will deplete his health.
5 Die Hard
Undoubtedly one of the most action-packed Christmas movies is Die Hard. Though it contains little in the way of traditional holiday themes, the movie has become a festive classic for many adults who prefer the season with a bit more adventure.
The gameplay follows the same plot as the movie, with players controlling John McClane who must clear terrorists from the floors of Nakatomi Plaza in order to rescue his wife and several other hostages. The game was originally released between 1990 and 1991 on the Commodore 64, TurboGrafx-16, and the NES.
4 Gremlins
Another film that makes a surprising entry in many Christmas movie lists is the black comedy horror film Gremlins. The movie follows its young protagonist, Billy, who is gifted a small furry creature called a mogwai. Looking after the mogwai requires three essential rules: don’t expose them to sunlight, don’t let them touch water, and above all, never feed them after midnight.
When Billy accidentally breaks rules two and three, he discovers that the mogwai can multiply and transform into evil reptilian creatures when fed. A Gremlins game for the Atari was released the same year as the 1984 movie and requires players to prevent falling mogwai from reaching a row of hamburgers by catching or shooting them.
3 Polar Express
The 2004 animated classic The Polar Express, is another iconic Christmas movie that certainly defines the genre. Although, many fans believe that the movie’s darker, almost haunted atmosphere sets it apart from the rest.
The Polar Express was also developed into a video game for the PlayStation 2, PC, and Gamecube which follows a similar plot to the movie. The Polar Express allows players to control the hero boy protagonist as he fights off various enemies during his journey to the North Pole on the Polar Express train.
2 Home Alone
Home Alone, and its franchise of sequels, have long been regarded as one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time due to its popularity with adults and children alike. The movie follows Kevin McCallister, a boy who has been left behind by his family during Christmas and who must also defend his home from a pair of thieves by setting elaborate booby traps.
Several versions of the video game adaptation can be found for the Home Alone movie, with the most popular appearing on the PC, NES, Sega Genesis, and Game Boy. Though each version of the game features slightly different gameplay elements, the objective remains mostly the same: use various household items as traps or weapons to fight off the two thieves.
1 The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge
Tim Burton is well-known for his creative and spooky universes full of memorable characters, and his 1993 movie The Nightmare Before Christmas is no different. Unlike many other movie tie-ins, The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge acts as a sequel to the plot of the iconic 1993 holiday movie.
Released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2005, the game picks up a year after the movie when Oogie Boogie is revived and exacts revenge on Halloween Town and the six other Holiday Leaders. Players must control Jack Skellington and fight off Oogie’s monsters in a quest to rescue not only the citizens of Halloween Town but also Santa himself.