The holiday season makes me think of video games for many reasons. It gets dark earlier, so I want to be at home. It’s cold out, so I want to be at home. And I usually have some time of work, so I get to be at home. Besides that, I like to write a wrap-up post here on Robo♥beat at the end of each year, which goes through some of my favorite things from video games the whole year.
Aside from the games I’m playing the next couple weeks (like Dishonored 2!), these are the ones on my list to play once I have a break for the holidays. :)
Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink
This steampunk detective game has been out on Steam for quite a while now (like, years?), but seeing that it’s on Xbox One makes me want to play it now (since I don’t have working PC… still). The hand-drawn art style is gorgeous, and I love that it’s set in a snowy steampunk village — seems like a cozy pick for the holidays.
Robinson: The Journey
This PS VR game seems like a great diversion this time of year. The setting isn’t your typical wintry one — instead, you’ve crash-landed on a planet full of dangerous, including dinosaurs! The cool thing here is that this game is very much about exploration. And you have two companions with you: your AI and a baby T-Rex. I can’t imagine a better set-up there. :)
Watch_Dogs 2
While I didn’t play the first Watch Dogs, this game is going to be the big one I play over the holiday break. Because I suspect it’s going to be a time suck, I’m saving it for my time off work! I also like the fact that it’s set in San Francisco, since that’s where I live. And since for at least a week or so, I won’t be in the city, it’ll be nice to revisit through this game.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
I started this game last holiday season and still haven’t finished it. It’s just a long one, guys! But I love the game, and I’m even enjoying the fact that it’s taking me some time to finish it. It’s the sort of game that I can pick up whenever I need a Tomb Raider fix, even as I’m playing other, more current games. Last Christmas, I took my console to my mom’s house, and she even watched me play and helped me with some of the tomb puzzles! That’s at least one reason why this game feels like a holiday pick for me. Also, lots of snow.
Phoenix Wright
Since my family tends to monopolize the TV for most of the day, I typically game on my console early in the morning or late at night. Having my Nintendo 3DS with me means I can game anytime, though. A couple Thanksgivings ago, I played Dual Destinies and absolutely loved it, but I haven’t explored any related games yet. That’s why I’d finally like to dive into some Phoenix Wright games over the holidays!
What games are you playing this season?
— Ashley
Robo♥beat 
Being self-employed and with what little family I have scattered to the winds, the holidays don’t mean much to me. Just another month really. But I suppose everything being closed might leave me a little more gaming time, and it’s not as if I’m hurting for free time normally anyway.
First bit of December will be devoted to SW:TOR. Wanna play the new expansion. Might work on some more class stories, too — haven’t decided. I want to get them all done, but I don’t necessarily need to get them all done right now.
There’s also TSW’s holiday events to consider. They didn’t add anything new last year, but I think I heard there will be a new event this year. I’ve got all I need from Krampusnacht and the Mayan Apocalypse and such, but I’ll definitely show up for anything new.
First chance I get I want to play through No One Lives Forever 2 now that I finally have it. I also have a sudden urge to invest more time in Elder Scrolls Online (more on that on my blog in about ten hours), but I feel I should clear my current plate, so to speak, before starting another major gaming project. Still got a few games left in my Steam backlog, for instance.
Finally, if I can find the time, I might do another run through StarCraft’s Nova DLC. I’m finishing my first run now, and it’s glorious and awesome. I definitely see it having strong replay value.
Nice. I saw the trailer for the new SWTOR expansion, it looks intriguing. I know what you mean about feeling the need to clear your plate before diving into more gaming projects! I feel the same way about playing Skyrim again, and actually Elder Scrolls Online is on my wishlist right now… but I want to wrap up some shorter games first, and maybe spend early next year getting lost in an Elder Scrolls game. We’ll see!
SWTOR totally rebooted its story with the last expansion, and Knights of the Eternal Throne is pretty much the continuation of that. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about the change. It’s a big adjustment.
I’d offer to show you the ropes in ESO if/when you try it, but I imagine you’d be playing on console, and unfortunately they don’t have cross-platform play.
Ah thanks! I would love that but yeah, I will have to play on console for now. I’ll let you know if I try it though! Still deciding between that and diving back into Skyrim…
If you do try it, I recommend rolling an Aldmeri character.
Razum-dar is good Khajiit.
Yay for Phoenix Wright! :D You should definitely play the older games, including Apollo Justice. I think each game has at least one memorable case or cast of characters you’ll love and remember after you finish the games. It’s also amazing to go from playing the older games and then moving onto the newer installments (or going backwards in your case) and seeing how much the series has evolved and improved as time went on. I definitely prefer the new improvements added to Dual Destinies compared to how the old games used to be. Happy gaming and enjoy the your holidays!
Thanks! Yay I’m excited. I remember you liking these games a lot, and I just haven’t gotten a chance to play more of them yet. Is there one in particular you recommend? Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney?
In my opinion, I would say play them all. :) Also, start from the beginning since it establishes who all the characters are and their progression from game to game is a joy to witness.
Usually this last month of the year is me trying to catch up on some of the games I missed out on throughout the year. Probably because I take my year-end lists I do for the blog and voting on forums a little too seriously. It is impossible to play everything, but I like to feel I didn’t miss out on too much. Will definitely be playing The Last Guardian when that releases too.
Yeah I agree! I also like doing my year-ed wrap up posts and it makes me want to play as much as I can that I missed. The Last Guardian seems really intriguing, I may try to play it if I have time. Definitely sometime anyway!
You’ve got some great games here! Good luck working through them. For my holiday break, I’m planning to finish up Assassin’s Creed II in time to replay the first DisHonored (with hopes of picking up the second one on sale after Xmas — fingers crossed!) and maybe start Bioshock, or return to Fallout 4. Not sure yet… :)
Oh yeah, I never finished Fallout 4 last year! I was playing that last holiday break, along with Rise of the Tomb Raider. Have fun with your games too! :)
My fiance has a ps4 + VR which he spends most of his time on. I bought him Robinson: The Journey for Christmas and he thinks its brilliant. I deliberately avoid scary virtual reality games such as resident evil and rush of blood, so discovering dinosaurs and fixing machines was perfect for me. I now take over my partners PS4, which he isnt pleased about, just to play the journey. On the other hand, playing can make you sick and dizzy very quickly!
Haha that’s awesome. I agree about the dizzy part, I get pretty motion sick playing VR… I’ve always been very prone to that! But I know some people who have gotten used to it, so hopefully that will happen to me too the more I play. Depends on the game too. I agree it’s nice to see a VR game that’s different than the scary ones out there, as I don’t like horror either! Totally agree with you there, playing that in VR would be too scary. I’m watching my boyfriend play Resident Evil 7 right now though, he’s playing in VR and I watch the screen and help him with the clues, it’s pretty fun. About as much scary as I can take though! haha
That’s exactly what I do with my other half as well haha :) x