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The holidays denote that brief, blissful slice in the calendar year where, for many of us, time simply ceases to exist. Hunkered down under a mountain of blankets and biscuits, few will even know what day of the week it is, only that as long as it's not New Year's Eve, the lounging may continue in earnest. It's a perfect time, in other words, for some serious gaming sessions, and what better way to play than with PC Game Pass?
Not only does a month's PC Game Pass subscription cover you for the entire holiday season, but the resulting bounty of available titles offers something for everyone, from the latest Xbox Game Studio blockbusters to treasured indie gems. With an embarrassment of riches on offer in the PC Game Pass library, it can be tricky to know where to even begin, especially if last night's eggnog is still complicating things.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
PC Game Pass nets you access to all Xbox Game Studios titles from day one of launch, as illustrated most recently with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which sees Wolfenstein developer MachineGames take a crack at putting players in the Alden 405s of Harrison Ford's cinematic icon.
With a story from the mind of Bethesda Game Studios' Todd Howard, blessed by the canonical gods of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, it's every bit the genuine Indy adventure you'd hope it to be, and the perfect companion piece to follow up a late night rewatch of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Age of Empires 4
Forget trying to win a game of charades this Boxing Day and instead play like a true conqueror with Age of Empire 4. Rooted in the series' real-time strategy origins yet delivered with a modernized sheen, Age of Empires 4 is the perfect PC game to sit back and while away the twilight hours with, especially knowing that no alarm clock awaits you on the other side of bedtime.
Whether battling against friends and strangers online or taking on history's greatest strategists in its meaty campaign, Relic Entertainment's fresh update to Age of Empires' beloved design formula provides both depth and catharsis across the great canvas of the digital battlefield.
Dead Rising 4
Like an unofficial Shane Black movie, Dead Rising 4 sets its story at Christmas, and decks its halls with as much blood as it does boughs of holly. Returning star Frank West finds himself exploring yet another zombie infested superstore, this time in Colorado, but the holiday backdrop provides him with even more unique store items to use as inventive weaponry, from a candy cane crossbow to "Acid Trap Santa" (don't ask).
As one of the few AAA games actually set during the Christmas period, Dead Rising 4 aligns rather nicely as a game that matches the festive feeling of the season itself, making it the perfect go-to for your holiday PC gaming gallivants. So much as you can stomach the wanton violence, of course.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Sometimes the verbal debates over Christmas dinner simply won't do. Sometimes, you need to settle the score (or should that be finish the fight?) in the true, Spartan tradition with a Halo showdown. Thankfully, The Master Chief Collection has it all, including not just the ability to go one-to-one in private matches against family members but a full suite of online options across all of the classic Halo games, all the way up to 2012's Halo 4. Better yet, all of the associated Halo campaigns come packaged up in the collection, too, with full co-op included for keeping the household peace tiding over till the new year.
It Takes Two
Chances are that the holiday period marks the longest consecutive amount of time in which you're stuck in the same house as your close family members, so why not trade out the strained Monopoly campaigns for something a little more collaborative? Hazelight's follow-up to 2018's A Way Out is another high-concept co-op adventure premised entirely around the need for two players to work together to achieve success, this time in the form of escaping a troubled couple's newly miniaturized status.
It Takes Two's story is unashamedly harebrained, but it's in the inventive gameplay and tight focus on teamwork where the game truly shines as an experience that can bring even the most dysfunctional family members together.
Minecraft
A universal classic for players young, old, and everything in between, there's never a bad time to play Minecraft, but you couldn't do much better than Christmas. Whether you're surviving the nights against an onslaught of Creepers, or getting the creative juices flowing with elaborate Rube Goldberg machines worthy of a Wallace and Gromit montage, Mojang's cubic toybox is a therapeutic time-killer that pairs perfectly with the holiday period's slower pace of life. Better yet, full cross-play means there's nothing stopping you from joining up with other friends online, and building new worlds together before the new year brings you crashing back down into reality.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition
For the same reason you'll see many fantasy fans arguing that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy count as Christmas films, those same advocates will also make a similar case for Skyrim and its status as a Christmas game. There's certainly something very comforting about the cozy (and, at this point, nostalgic) aura evoked by Bethesda's definitive role-playing opus, particularly when wandering through the snowy tundras of its mountain peaks from the warm comforts of your living room.
PC Game Pass will net you the Special Edition of the game, too, meaning you'll have access to Bethesda's improved graphical assets, all previously released DLC, and its Creation Club mods; a gift worthy of a true adventurer.
