Best winter games on Xbox — 8 games perfect for the holiday season
Heidi’s Picks —
Eight best winter games to play on Xbox
Let’s first address the wintery elephant in the room: there are plenty of winter sports games to check out, whether you prefer skiing or figure skating, and they definitely fit the snowy bill. This list, however, focuses on other games that fit the theme, with a small selection of some of the best winter Xbox games out there based on review scores, our personal opinions, and pure winteryness.
This list has a mix of titles, including some of the best Game Pass games. They veer between frozen, snowy settings that almost chill your hands through the controller, to exploration of an extreme take on the season with a post-apocalyptic survival experience.
So, whack the kettle on, draw in around the fire, and take a look through our list of the eight best winter games on Xbox — and let us know if you have a favorite wintertime game that should be on here!
8. Red Dead Redemption 2
The first few hours of Red Dead Redemption 2 see you holed up in an abandoned town in the freezing mountains in the middle of a storm. Once you get control of Arthur (and after you’re done playing with the snow physics) it’s a struggle to keep the gang warm, together, and alive. Cozy, no?
Afterward, you’re unleashed into the wide and varied world of the game, which ranges from those freezing mountains to humid swamps and hot, dusty towns. These last have little to do with a winter vibe, but luckily, Red Dead Redemption 2 gives you the freedom to ignore Arthur Morgan’s responsibilities, turn your back on the gang and its demands, and head back into the snowy wilderness to become an isolated, rabbit-hunting rambler, if so inclined.
As excellent as the story missions are, Red Dead Redemption 2’s world is unbelievably beautiful, and the smallest details — from the crunch of snow under Arthur’s feet to the fact that he can brew his own coffee while camping in the mountains — will help the whole thing feel like a great cozy winter experience. Until the bounty hunters show up, that is…
7. Hogwarts Legacy
- Take advantage of the magic of Hogwarts in winter for the Hogwarts Legacy achievements
- Developer: Avalanche Software
- Available with Xbox Game Pass: No
If you ever wished you could spend Christmas at Hogwarts, then you might enjoy wandering around the snowy castle grounds and Hogsmeade in Hogwarts Legacy. You do go through all the seasons in Hogwarts Legacy, so winter’s only around for part of the game, but depending on how long you spend exploring, you can pass a good chunk of time in the winter landscape before progressing.
There’s something about a light dusting of snow on the Hogsmeade roofs and in the courtyards at Hogwarts that just add an extra layer of cozy to Hogwarts Legacy, and you can appreciate soaring over the snow-laden grounds while warm at home.
6. Celeste
- Make your way up a snow-capped mountain for the Celeste achievements
- Developer: Maddy Makes Games
- Available with Xbox Game Pass: Yes
Some of the best games to play in winter centre around grueling survival mechanics, but in contrast to this, we have the excellent Celeste. This game deserves all the wild praise it frequently gets, and once again proves how a simple premise and gameplay setup can be incredibly effective.
Your goal is simply to get to the top of Celeste Mountain, but getting there involves some increasingly challenging platforming. Any of the frustration and despair you might feel at your many deaths in Celeste is undercut by the super-fast speed at which you’re back in the action and can try again and again. Celeste Mountain offers a snowy climb (at least at first) and the game is gorgeous to look at, with wonderfully colorful backdrops as Madeline climbs higher.
The emotion behind the story is wonderful too, as along with the occasional heart-wrenching part of the story is Celeste’s focus on the fact that Madeline (and through her, us) can do it, if she keeps trying; she just has to keep climbing.
5. Wasteland 3
- Face the darker side of winter with the Wasteland 3 achievements
- Developer: inXile Entertainment
- Available with Xbox Game Pass: Yes
…And then back to the grueling side of wintery games with Wasteland 3, an RPG set in a post-apocalyptic world. You’re in charge of a party of Rangers and must lead them against the violent ambitions of the children of the Patriarch of Colorado while dealing with the different factions and enemies of the area, managing your Rangers, taking on tactical turn-based combat, and ultimately deciding the fate of this frozen land.
It’s all corruption and violence against a dark, snow-covered land and gives you plenty of content to sink your teeth into during the winter.
4. Röki
- Explore Nordic folklore for the Röki achievements
- Developer: Polygon Treehouse
- Available with Xbox Game Pass: No
Röki is a clear pick for when you’re looking for something with a wintery atmosphere. While it does have its more melancholy, somber aspects, Röki also delves into mysteries and magic as Tove explores the Scandinavian wilderness and meets characters straight from Nordic folklore.
Tove’s goal is to save her family, and there are some darker parts in the game, although Röki eschews combat for puzzles, collectibles, and exploration. It’s utterly gorgeous to look at, and as a relatively shorter game compared to some of the open-world RPG behemoths on here, is a great change of pace if you’re looking for something different to play this winter.
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Now, there’s obviously a lot more going on in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition than simply enjoying its winter scenery (more dragon fire, less playing in the snow) but while going about the business of the Dragonborn, you can’t help but notice how gorgeous Skyrim is to explore, and how enjoyable its open world is. Sure, there are plenty of epic happenings going on, but it’s just as easy to disappear for hours on end into the wilderness, exploring and discovering the secrets hidden across Skyrim’s snowy landscapes.
If you want to play something that fits the wintery atmosphere, with a healthy helping of magic, prophesies, battles, and world-altering events, you can’t go wrong with Skyrim.
2. The Long Dark
Nothing dives into the extremes of a grueling, brutal winter like The Long Dark. The hugely popular survival game takes place in a barren, frozen landscape in Canada, which has been ravaged by a geomagnetic calamity.
As the devs emphasize, it’s survival that’s the focus here, rather than taking on any post-apocalyptic enemies. Hunger, thirst, the cold, and exhaustion are our character’s immediate concerns while grappling with the dangers of this frozen existence and all its challenges, not to mention the predators which are also attempting to scrape by in the cold.
The Long Dark has had plenty of updates since launch, with everything from new areas to new gameplay systems, so if you’re looking for a game to dive into on the darker winter evenings, this is a good bet.
1. Frostpunk: Console Edition
Did we say nothing dives into the extremes of a grueling, brutal winter like The Long Dark? Well, the same is true of the Frostpunk games, for different reasons. There is of course a Frostpunk 2 by now, but we’ve gone for the first game on this list overall since it’s such a classic, and because the sequel is still working out its kinks (there are currently two unobtainables in Frostpunk 2).
It’s not just your own survival to take into account in Frostpunk, it’s the survival of the last city on Earth. You have to manage the city and its inhabitants, keeping them fed, warm, and happy enough that everything doesn’t all fall apart. This leads to some awful choices as you try to ensure everybody’s survival and the fate of the city, while also creating laws, exploring the outside world, taking developing technologies into account, and slowly turning into a very different leader than you thought you’d be.
Things only get colder in Frostpunk, and there’s no way to please everyone. It might not be the cheeriest game for the season, but you can at least appreciate blankets and jumpers galore while facing down Frostpunk’s frozen world.
