What Are You Playing This Weekend Xmas

Christmas may be the time for goodwill, family, and overindulgence – but let’s be honest, if you read and comment on this website, it’s also about games. For many of you, there’ll be a brief break from work for a few days, and that makes it the perfect opportunity to sit back and tackle that backlog. In this very special festive edition of WAYP, here’s what we’re playing!

Sammy Barker, Editor

I've made the major mistake of unwrapping Genshin Impact and Disney Dreamlight Valley, both of which have got their claws into me, so I'll definitely be checking off my dailies and cosying up with these two over the Christmas weekend. But my main target for the holidays is Sonic Frontiers, an open world oddity that I'm rather enjoying in short bursts.

Robert Ramsey, Deputy Editor

Christmas is all about getting stuck into a big old RPG, so I'll be continuing my playthrough of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition. Despite knowing the game like the back of my hand, it genuinely feels like a new experience at times on PS5. A perfect holiday adventure.

Stephen Tailby, Associate Editor

I think I'll ignore my ridiculous backlog once more and continue playing the original Psychonauts. It seems like a lovely, cosy game to enjoy over the holiday break, and I have Psychonauts 2 ready and waiting. I also might cave and upgrade to PS Plus Premium just so I can play Ridge Racer 2. Don't judge me.

Liam Croft, Assistant Editor

I'm fully focused on my backlog at the moment since new releases have (thankfully) dried up for a few weeks. I'm working through some shorter games, including Cult of the Lamb, Evil West, and High on Life. I want to reduce my backlog as much as possible before the 2023 onslaught begins, even if the titles still left from this year are longer RPGs.

Aaron Bayne, Video Editor

It's Christmas time, otherwise known as backlog season! And to mark the occasion, I am finally making my start to a long-overdue playthrough of Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding. I played this one a fair bit back on release but never saw it through to completion, so I'm hoping this fresh start will give me the motivation to be the best post-apocalyptic delivery man out there.

Annette Magaña, Reviewer

Merry Christmas Push Square! I’ll mostly be spending time with the fam but I'll squeeze in a few hours of Disney Dreamlight Valley to get those holiday updates.

Brett Posner-Ferdman, Reviewer

As we approach Christmas weekend, I’m going to celebrate in the most festive way possible…. By playing one of the most divisive games of the year. I’m looking forward to finally playing The Last of Us: Part 1, after hearing some great things about it from many game of the year lists

Graham Banas, Reviewer

What's more festive than Call of Duty? I've been absolutely glued to Modern Warfare 2 since it was released, to a degree I never expected. I'm definitely gonna continue to spend some time with Infinity Ward's latest during my time off. But I also have yet to even start The Callisto Protocol, so I should probably get on that too, no? If there was ever anything even more festive than Call of Duty...

Jamie O'Neill, Reviewer

I've a simple, albeit specific plan to pack my PS Vita when I visit family, so I can race around Arcade Mode's Blizzard Bluff and Polar Pass in PS1 Crash Team Racing on Christmas Day.

Ken Talbot, Reviewer

I'm spending my Christmas trudging through the northern realms, assembling materials to make the Master Crafted Witcher gear (again) in the new shiny PS5 Wild Hunt.

Scott McCrae, Reviewer

Assuming I don't procrastinate and can get God of War Ragnarok polished off in the next day or so, I'm looking forward to finally opening the copy of Marvel's Midnight Suns that's been staring at me from across the room.

Simon Fitzgerald, Reviewer

Christmas will have it’s fair share of family time but we all know it’s about the extra gaming time, you can’t choose your family but you can certainly choose your games. So this year with my backlog mostly cleared I’ll be going back to an old favourite of mine, The Binding of Isaac: Repentance. With over a thousand hours sunk into it I am determined to get every unlock and Platinum it.


That's everything we're playing over the Xmas break, but what are you ho-ho-hoping to tackle over the festive weekend? Enjoy the holidays, and let us know in the comments section below.