Remember These? 7 Forgotten Christmas Games of Yore
Check out a new crop of obscure Christmas games from platforms as varied as the CD-i, MS-DOS, the Game Boy Color, and the Sega Dreamcast.
By Benj Edwards
Every year around Christmas time, it’s a solemn tradition in my family to pull out any holiday-themed video and computer games we can find and play them. I always try to find new games, so I have to dig deeper and deeper into gaming history to pull out interesting yuletide gaming classics to experiment with.
This year, I found a new crop of obscure Christmas games to enjoy — both retro and recent. You’ll find titles from platforms as varied as CD-i, MS-DOS, Game Boy Color, and the Sega Dreamcast. If you manage to track them down, I think you’ll enjoy them as much as I have. Even if these games aren’t perfect, I really appreciate their Christmas spirit and the nostalgia for years gone by that they evoke in me.
Toy Commander Christmas Special (Dreamcast, 1999)
In late 1999, the UK edition of Official Dreamcast Magazine and Sega Europe published a very special demo version of the Dreamcast classic Toy Commander. In Toy Commander Christmas Special, you play as Santa Claus with a jetpack (along with the usual cast of drivable toys) navigating a festively decorated house, looking for lost presents. It’s a lost gem to be sure. If you’re looking to try it yourself, you can find it on the DreamOn Volume 4 demo disc packed with the UK issue. The US edition of Official Dreamcast Magazine later published it with its January 2001 issue on the Volume 10 demo disc.
Icicle Works (Commodore 64, 1985)
If you’re a fan of Boulder Dash and Christmas, why not combine both? The result is Icicle Works, a UK release for the Commodore 64, Commodore 16, and ZX Spectrum. In the game, you run through the snow, dodging giant snowballs (instead of boulders) while collecting presents (instead of gems). Simple fun with a lot of festive spirit thrown in.
Christmas County (CD-i, 1996)
Several Christmas games appeared on the doomed CD-i multimedia platform in the 1990s. One of the most interesting to me is Christmas Country, a platformer where you play as an elf helping out Santa on Christmas. The Bad Elf has stolen Santa’s list, and you need to dodge igloo turtles and igloo snails while collecting stars on your way to victory. Like most CD-i games, it’s not top-shelf material, but it’s definitely an obscure digital relic.
Santa Claus Junior (Game Boy Color, 2001)
In this festive European Game Boy Color game, you play as someone named Nick — Son of Claus, I presume — and you must locate all the lost presents stolen by an evil witch. It’s standard platforming fare, and it received an update called Santa Claus Jr. Advance for the Game Boy Advance the following year.
Santa Claus in Trouble (Windows, 2002)
In 2002, a German developer created the only Santa Claus 3D platforming game I know of (aside from its sequel) and released it for free on the internet. As a result, you can’t complain too much about this beautiful title, evocative of Mario titles and Banjo-Kazooie in style. It’s really fun to finally control Santa Claus in 3D, though the later levels get frustratingly difficult. I find myself wondering why no major developer has tackled a modern Santa platformer like this; I would buy it in a heartbeat.
3D Xmas Adventure: Santa’s Rescue (DOS, 1996)
Back in the 1990s, a company called Pie in the Sky Software created a 3D Game Creation System that allowed users to create their own Wolfenstein 3D-like first-person shooter games. To promote the creation system, Pie in the Sky released this fun and festive 3D FPS as a shareware title on the internet. In the game, an evil Ice Wizard has frozen all of Santa’s elves, and you must run around thawing them out with a candy cane that shoots magic sprinkles. It’s a charming indie experience that reminds me of the glory days of MS-DOS.
Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town (Wii, 2011)
Last year when I was looking for new Christmas games I had never played before, I turned to the Wii, which hosts a handful of related titles. Of them, my favorite is this side-scrolling platformer based on the 1970’s Rankin/Bass stop-motion film of the same name. In the game, you play as a young Santa Claus facing off against the mean Burgermeister Meisterburger. It’s not the world’s best platformer, but when it comes to the rare world of actually playable Christmas games, I’ll take what I can get.
Read more: “The Best PC Games You Can Buy Right Now”
Originally published at www.pcmag.com.
