What video games did you play over the vacations?
Properly, it is formally 2026, and we’re all again to work. The vacation break is over, all of the decorations have been taken down (proper?), and even the New Years hangover is a fading reminiscence.
Certainly, although, it is not too late for one final look again on that wonderful little bit of day without work? Right here at PC Gamer, we wish to make amends for what video games all of us dug into over Christmas and New Years, earlier than we totally settle for the contemporary grind of a brand new January.
So here is what all of us bought as much as—however we might additionally love to listen to from you guys. What video games did you play on the tail finish of 2025? Tell us within the feedback!
Robin Valentine, Senior Editor: I all the time head into the vacation break with grand plans of catching up on all of the video games I missed that yr… however as a substitute I often find yourself replaying one thing from 10 years in the past. When the nights are lengthy and the wind is chilly, there’s simply one thing so rejuvenating about bedding in with an previous favorite.
So it was once more in 2025, as I discovered myself on a whim beginning up one more new XCOM 2 Ironman marketing campaign—with the Battle of the Chosen growth and all of the DLCs, naturally. It is not the type of sport you’d usually name ‘cosy’, however at this level all its brutal alien threats are like previous mates of mine.
There’s something just a little bittersweet about it, although. It holds up splendidly, simply nonetheless among the best technique video games of all time. However taking part in by way of it once more is a reminder of how far behind its many imitators nonetheless are, all these years later—and the truth that there’s nonetheless no signal of an official sequel. Fingers crossed that Star Wars Zero Firm seems to be the brand new hope I have been ready for.
I am getting in direction of the tip of my marketing campaign now, with two of the Chosen useless and the Avatar Venture crumbling. If I can kick Introduction off Earth quickly, I’d even try to sneak in a playthrough of Chimera Squad too earlier than January’s over…
Herdling
Kara Phillips, Evergreen Author: There’s nothing fairly like a countryside stroll over the winter break, nevertheless it’s been bitterly chilly the place I reside, so I assumed I do it just about this yr as a substitute. Herdling positively scratched that itch, but additionally added the stress of carting twelve beasts to the highest of a mountain, all of which I shortly turned very emotionally hooked up to.
Between attempting to maintain tabs on all of my Calicorns, force-feeding those that bought injured mysterious blue berries, and praying that I did not upset any bloodthirsty owl creatures, Herdling is unquestionably a type of video games that requires all of your consideration always. Luckily, because it solely takes about 3 hours to get by way of, I simply made my approach to the tip in a single sitting with minimal misery, and sure, earned the achievement for getting all my Calicorns to the tip safely.
It might have been simpler for me to wrap up heat and truly enterprise exterior, however at the very least I’ve come into 2026 with the satisfaction of understanding I would not be fully helpless if I needed to get up in the future and wrangle 12 gargantuan but oddly charming creatures. I’d panic, sure, however we might all make it to the tip safely at the very least, regardless of a number of bumps and bruises from the journey.
Sean Martin, Senior Guides Author: One in all my largest gaming regrets of 2024 was by no means discovering time to check out Metaphor: ReFantazio. As a Persona 5 enjoyer, I knew it was just about assured I might have a good time with it, however the stars simply by no means aligned and it wasn’t till Christmas this yr (or final yr, I assume) that I lastly bought an opportunity to sit down down with this non secular sequel.
I used to be not upset. Metaphor takes the tried and examined construction of the Persona sequence, with its character bonds and turn-based battles, however transplants them right into a fantasy kingdom that is devolved into tribalism and mass inequality. After the king’s homicide, a contest to assert the crown known as, and also you set off throughout the realm, recruiting disenfranchised comrades and engaging in heroic deeds all within the hopes of constructing a greater, extra equal world.
I do suppose Metaphor carries a few of the identical issues as Persona, notably its considerably samey dungeons, and a battle system that is overly reliant on hitting enemy weaknesses, nevertheless it greater than makes up for it in othe rways. Its unbelievable archetype system (which supplies you an enormous quantity of construct customisation), its hilarious solid of characters, and its sensible anime-esque event arc construction make for such an ideal journey.
It additionally has probably the most distinctive fantasy aesthetics I’ve seen in a very long time, combining medieval iconography, brutalist structure, Hieronymus Bosch-esque monsters, plus characters who seem like they’ve stepped straight out of a Nineteen Sixties trend magazine.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
Andy Chalk, NA Information Lead: I wrapped up Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 over the vacations, and you recognize what? It is a rattling high-quality sport. Some notable shortcomings, sure, together with a few headache-inducing glitches that pressured me to replay missions, and an ending that—placing it politely—felt actually rushed. Additionally it is, in case this level hasn’t been made clearly sufficient already, positively not a full-fat sequel to Bloodlines. I would not even name it an RPG.
However for those who can take your focus off that grossly ill-chosen title, Bloodlines 2 is a hell of a superb narrative brawler. The fight is bloody and extra violent than I anticipated, and yeah there’s an excessive amount of of it—the variety of ghouls and thinbloods prowling Seattle’s rooftops on a nightly foundation is frankly ridiculous—however on the identical time I by no means bought bored with beating the shit out of just about everybody who checked out me mistaken, so who’s to say what qualifies as ‘an excessive amount of’? Actually, Phyre coldly demanding “Fall” as she compels a pack of goons to off themselves by no means will get previous.
In any occasion, as a lot enjoyable as I had with the fisticuffs, the story and characters are what actually pulled me into Bloodlines 2. The back-and-forth journeys between the Nineteen Twenties and 2020s stored me guessing, and the partnership between Phyre and her cerebral sidekick Fabien turned out so a lot better than I anticipated: I am not likely one for Malkavian shenanigans however Fabien’s insanity is splendidly refined, and I genuinely liked the way it turns into evident over the course of the sport that regardless of his odd habits, he is not a punchline—he is a very good detective.
I can not suggest Bloodlines 2 unreservedly. It might have been higher, it ought to have been higher, and for those who’re the type of Bloodlines diehard who’s memorized each line of dialogue and has a poster-sized picture of Leonard Boyarsky in your wall, effectively, it in all probability is not for you. However for me? I used to be unhappy to see it over, and I need extra. It is a distant dream, given all the things, however dammit, Phyre and Fabien deserve one other shot, and I need them to get it.
Ball x Pit
Rory Norris, Guides Author: Feeling the fatigue of taking part in manner an excessive amount of Arc Raiders and Battlefield 6 on the finish of 2025, I wanted a easy palate cleanser—you recognize the drill. Mistakenly, I picked Ball x Pit, an indie roguelike I might ignored when it launched again in October 2025, regardless of it promoting 300,000 copies in simply 5 days.
I do not know the way it retains taking place, however some devilish builders are nonetheless by some means inventing new roguelike offshoots that dig so deep into my mind that I can not escape them. This time, it is a Vampire Survivors-esque roguelike meets pinball.
Your objective is easy: accumulate and improve varied balls throughout a run to kill the enemies earlier than they attain the underside of the display screen and hit you. Similar to Vampire Survivors, your display screen will shortly get very vibrant, in a short time. Bear in mind, it is pinball, so you may as well bounce balls to create a endless whirlwind of ache.
Every ball and passive merchandise is creatively tied into this core mechanic: Some move by way of enemies, inflict standing results, or have bonuses from bouncing off partitions and targets. You are heartily rewarded for strategic taking pictures and intelligent buildcrafting.
You possibly can even mix and evolve balls to make much more absurd mixtures, like mashing collectively Bomb and Poison balls to create a Nuclear Bomb, which, unsurprisingly, explodes for enormous injury and applies radiation to all enemies.
Add to this the (at present) 16 characters to unlock, like The Shade, who shoots balls from the again of the map, or The Cohabitants, who shoot balls in mirrored instructions however deal half injury, and there is a lot to sink your tooth into.
Oh, and it is also half pinball city-builder, the place you need to strategically place buildings to reap sources and construct upgrades.
Lusternia: Age of Ascension
Joshua Wolens, Information Author: I haven’t got many Christmas traditions—save consuming sufficient cheese to kill a draught horse—however I all the time appear to search out myself returning to MUDs over the vacation season. This yr, I used to be neck-deep in Lusternia which, no, look, it is not a hentai sport. I do know lust is correct there within the title however your thoughts has been addled by Steam dreck. It is all very healthful.
Lusternia is a text-based MMO (suppose the previous Zork video games: GO WEST, PICK UP SWORD, that sort of factor) that not often has greater than 25 gamers on-line at anybody time, and which bought switched into “legacy mode” by its guardian firm a yr or two in the past. In essence, which means it is now run by volunteers and all its egregious microtransactions bought fully switched off—you actually cannot spend cash on it anymore.
Which is sort of fascinating, no? I feel so, anyway, which truth—together with the sport’s truly fairly wealthy and enjoyable fantasy setting the place I play some sort of snake-man Monk who has a mouth in his chest and does three assaults per spherical—retains luring me again to the sport each Christmas break.
Tanto Cuore
Jess Kinghorn, {Hardware} Author: Setting apart a frankly scary variety of hours spent working round Pokemon Legends Z-A, it’s time to confess my sins and admit I’ve spent a good chunk of this festive interval taking part in a deckbuilder the place all of the playing cards are anime maids.
In Tanto Cuore, you tackle the position of a manor lord who needs nothing greater than to fill the property as much as the rafters with frilly-clothed professionals. Slightly than paying your home workers something in the best way of correct financial compensation, you as a substitute spend love playing cards every flip to rent contemporary faces. Every maid you utilize possesses varied skills, similar to producing extra love or sending victory-point sapping mishaps to rival gamers—who, in single-player, are additionally maids.
Regardless of the lovable and fluffy aesthetic, it is mechanically aggressive; every flip you are both including to your horde of home workers or plotting the downfall of one other participant, with defensive performs typically feeling extra pricey than worthwhile.
I’ve misplaced my fair proportion of video games now, however each time a rival gloats by calling me “fairly disorganized”, I all the time come crawling again. You may say this gap was maid for me.
Lushfoil Images Sim
Scott Tanner, Senior Video Producer: As somebody who continuously makes use of cameras in actual life and has toyed with Unreal engine, Lushfoil lured me in with its promise of peaceable, low stakes gameplay in stunning locales. I’d picked up a brand new GPU over Black Friday so what higher approach to put it by way of its paces than throw half a French Alp at it?
Solo developer Matt Newell hesitates to name his creation a “sport”, it’s actually a sequence of expansive (and sometimes surprisingly vertiginous) landscapes to discover, starting from the sun-baked seashores of Newell’s native Australia, to the awful moss-covered lava fields of Southern Iceland. You’ll finally stumble throughout boards with images of those landscapes and it’s your job to recreate the compositions together with your trusty DSLR. Doing so unlocks new areas, new gear, and sometimes new climate circumstances.
I’m extra of a video man than a photograph man, however even I discovered the pictures mechanics just a little restricted by an absence of lenses and ND filters. You possibly can unlock different cameras however, apart from the tremendous helpful drone, the others are basically simply extra restricted, extra post-processed variations of your lavatory normal DSLR.
What actually hooked me was discovering a magic portal in Lushfoil’s attractive facsimile of Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari shrine which spat me out on a Nepalese mountainside throughout a blizzard at night time. Did the opposite ranges have portals too? I simply HAD to know. Cue a week-long obsession uncovering each picture op, climate variant, portal and collectible within the sport.
Except for the infuriatingly moist, darkish and samey East Maddon Park, I loved exploring every atmosphere at my very own tempo…although my strolls invariably turned sprints after half-hour or in order I hunted for goals. Maybe I wasn’t on the lookout for an informal sport in spite of everything. What I actually needed was a to-do record. Simply not a first-week-back-after-the-Christmas-break sort of to-do record.
Fallout 3
Ted Litchfield, Affiliate Editor: I am at present at 300 cumulative hours performed for one among my very favourite video games, Fallout: New Vegas, since I bought it for Christmas in 2010, and I’ve by no means as soon as rolled credit. However I am shut this time. The playthrough I began round Thanksgiving is additional than I’ve ever gotten earlier than: 50+ hours in, degree 40, three of 4 DLCs down, however a ton of faction stuff and who is aware of what number of facet quests to go.
So naturally, I took a break to blast by way of all of Fallout 3, one other formative sport I’ve by no means completed. No mods both: Even the fundamental unofficial patches have tons of dependencies I can not be bothered to futz with, and quite a lot of them even have .exe installers that will not work on Steam Deck—let me simply drag and drop the recordsdata into Fallout 3 / Information like I used to, dammit!
So I am uncooked dogging this unhealthy boy. Apart from all of the crashes—manner worse than New Vegas or another Bethesda sport—I’ve had a good time. It is a lot smaller and simpler than I keep in mind, and this playthrough cemented a rising feeling I’ve had that Fallout 4 is the superior sport, however Fallout 3 remains to be price revisiting. It has a slick, dirty, determined ambiance distinctive to the sequence, in addition to some standout quests and areas like Little Lamplight or the Dunwich Constructing.
Kletka
Andrea Shearon, Evergreen Author: The vacations all the time imply a number of additional back-to-back gaming nights with my mates over Discord, and the end-of-year Steam gross sales for 2025 have been a treasure trove of my precise model of goofy, co-op horror bullshit. I say that as a time period of endearment, however can’t stress sufficient how my new love, Kletka, checks each field for the right marathon of multiplayer mischief.
I stumbled upon Kletka because of a bundled sale with Distress, one other soviet stylish, survival crafting hang-out I performed final yr, and it is sporting the identical aesthetic. It is very a lot from the Deadly Firm period, sending you on a sequence of dystopian jobs by way of the Gigastructure, or the Gigakhrushchevka for those who’re acquainted with Russian creepy pasta. Consider it just like the backrooms, and you may descend additional into the compound in an elevator sharing the sport’s namesake, Kletka.
Regular elevators give me sufficient anxiousness, however the Kletka is worse. As a substitute of a pleasant, effectively lit ceiling, this factor has an enormous set of tooth hanging overhead. Because the nasty chompers are additionally the extraction level, you have to feed the Kletka to descend additional. It is quite a lot of useful resource administration, and issues get fairly determined when monsters roaming the ground tear after you, however your elevator additionally feels a bit peckish. Generally I simply sacrifice a buddy and frantically shut the door.
Jody Macgregor, Weekend/AU Editor: The festive perineum is the right time to cross a sport off the backlog like The Bureau you do not even keep in mind shopping for. (It was in all probability in a bundle?)
That is the XCOM third-person cowl shooter that could not resolve the principle drawback of canopy shooters, which is that you just’re continually sticking to cowl when you do not wish to. It is mapped to the dash button, so for those who attempt to run from a grenade or muton and move anyplace close to a wall you will be whooshed over and glued there—an actual 2013 drawback we finally handled by giving up on the entire style.
There is a nod to technique video games in The Bureau’s battle focus mode, the place you gradual time and order two squadmates round. The cursor you utilize to inform them the place to maneuver and the place to summon drones, turrets, and the like needs to be walked across the battlefield like an aged canine that may’t hop even the bottom barrier. Which is an issue as a result of each map is plagued by waist-high partitions since it is a cowl shooter, and you need to laboriously work your cursor round them whereas being shot in slow-motion.
The Bureau’s been a helpful approach to reset my expectations—not only a unhealthy sport however a nasty concept. Like Robin I am tempted to replay Chimera Squad subsequent, a a lot better XCOM spin-off, unfairly maligned.