Just a heads up if you need some threatening holiday cheer

Holiday stories are sort of athingin the Batman mythos, and it’s one of the aspects thatBatman: Arkham Originsgot right. Yep, you too can enjoy anArkham OriginsChristmas if you feel like booting it up again. It even got a Mr. Freeze DLC!

For those of you who completely blocked this game out of your mind,Arkham Originshas a troubled history for myriad reasons. It’s very clear that WB rushed it, as it was plagued with bugs upon release (particularly PC) that weren’t prioritized untilafter paid DLCwas released. Oh, andthe Wii U DLC ports were canceledafter WB sold people the Wii U edition. This was, in part, because Rocksteady (who had handledAsylumandCity) did not work on the game: that honor went to WB Games Montréal, who hasn’t had a major project since until 2022’sGotham Knights.

Arkham Origins Christmas

With all that out of the way,Arkham Originsis a decent holiday game that takes place on Christmas Eve, and deals with a younger Batman (voiced by Roger Craig Smith instead of Kevin Conroy) taking down Joker (voiced by Troy Baker instead of Mark Hammill). The cast shift portended the entire feel of the game. It was an “off-brand”Arkhamin many ways from top to bottom, but it did maintain a lot of the core that people knew and loved, and has been viewed more favorably over time.

If you actually want to play it from scratch, the process is incredibly annoying on consoles.It’s not part of the re-release trilogy pack, and does not have a current-gen version. Other than PC, your options are PS3 and Xbox 360: the latter is compatible with Xbox One,but you need the disc.

Oda Nobunaga and Yasuka on horses next to marching armies

Just saying: it’s an option! There aren’t that many Christmas games out there. If you want a better open world comic romp,Miles Moralesis fairly recent. Plus, there’s alwaysChristmas NiGHTS!

Miyabi and a round spirit wreathed in blue flames in Zenless Zone Zero

Two Fortnite characters performing Wanna See Me: a soldier striking a finger-gun pose and a paramedic dancing, set against a blue background.

Nexus Control Center Interface in Arknights: Endfield

Sekiro

Lucille, the baseball bat, visible in the mod for Left 4 Dead 2.

Elden Ring cracked statues

Elden Ring Walking Mausoleums 1

The splashart for Hextech Ziggs, showcasing the furry yordle being blown into the sky by his own bomb.