What Are You Playing This Christmas PS4 PlayStation 1

It's the holidays, so not only does it mean we've got a special edition of WAYP lined up, but we've also polished it up in a timely manner. We upped the word count this week so that our staffers could cram in a few more of their plans, and we're hoping to see a similarly bulging comments section below.

Sammy Barker, Editor

I'm a good 15 hours into Final Fantasy XV now, and even though I have to keep consulting Ramsey for plot explanations, I'm thoroughly enjoying my time with this quaint role-playing game. The story, in my opinion, is atrocious – but taking Noctis and crew out into battle is unquestionably entertaining, and I honestly feel the unusual urge to see everything that this game has to offer. Most of my Christmas will be spent riding shotgun in the Regalia, then, but I do intend to clean up several unfinished Telltale titles when I can't stomach the awful anime writing a second longer.

Robert Ramsey, Associate Editor

I purposefully left a load of quests undone in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition so I could get stuck in over the Christmas break, so I'll be returning to the snowy land of the Nords this weekend. I'll also be enjoying some quality Tekken time with visiting friends and family, as it's always been our go-to series when sociable gaming is on the cards. Last but not least, I think I'd like to play through Uncharted 4: A Thief's End again. It may not be the most festive game, but you've got to sit down and enjoy a good blockbuster at Christmas, right?

Alex Stinton, Reviewer

As I do pretty much every year I'll be using my time off this Christmas to trim a little bit off the top of my gaming backlog. Heading up the list is Final Fantasy XV as I'm very keen to get back on the road with Noctis and chums since my progress stalled pretty badly in recent weeks due to a slew of other gaming commitments. Should I get bored of adventuring in Eos, I've also got perennial favourite SMITE waiting in the wings, along with Elite Dangerous and Pokémon Sun to pick up any slack. It truly is a Christmas gaming miracle.

Graham Banas, Reviewer

Since I'm visiting family for the holidays and away from my PC, I'm going to try and use the time to tackle at least a portion of my PlayStation backlog. Now that Severed has finally gone on sale, I can actually spend some time with it. The most ludicrous part about that, though, is that Severed along with my need to finish Persona 4: Dancing All Night means I have not one but two games I can only play on a Vita. Now how about that. I also want to make the most of the holiday challenges in Rainbow Six: Siege, but playing that isn't exactly something new for me.

Jacob Hull, Reviewer

I usually spend the Christmas holidays taking a little break from video games, so I intend to keep that tradition going this year. But that doesn't mean I won't be playing games at all; I'll be playing board games such as Settlers of Catan or card games like Magic the Gathering with my friends and family. That and a few films, a good book by the fire, and some good food. And then, at the start of the New Year, I'll try and catch up with some of 2016's releases that passed me by like Watch Dogs 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Hitman. But the start of 2017 brings some exciting releases such as the long awaited Persona 5, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Tales of Berseria, so I'll need to be quick or some of last year's games will undoubtedly get lost in the pile of shame that time forgot.

Jade Sayers, Reviewer

To set the scene, in January I bet my best friend £20 and a real life trophy that I could get more Platinum Trophies than him this year, and I'm losing. I don't take loss well, so with ten days of freedom ahead of me (is there anything better than setting the end of year 'Out of Office' message?) I'm going into clean-up mode and have packed up my PS4 to bring down to my parents' place.

Armed with my Mac and the Remote Play app, I'll be crushing the challenge while my mum watches terrible Christmas movies on the 24 hour Christmas channel and my dad pretends he hasn't been asleep through the whole thing. I should hopefully nab my first Platinum Trophy by completing the last couple of chapters of Tales from the Borderlands, before moving onto Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishment. I've also packed up a bunch of LEGO games, and I've been eyeing the PSN January sale for 'easy Platinum' games to boost my score. I'm in this to win it, and nothing says happy holidays like destroying your friend's false hopes.

Joey Thurmond, Reviewer

Ah, freedom from the shackles of my scholarly pursuits! I've got about two weeks from here on out to do whatever I want. Besides spending time with family and focusing on personal writing that I've woefully neglected, it's time to make a dent in my backlog. On the non-PlayStation side of things, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Pokémon Moon, and Gears of War 4 will be mine. With my PS4, I'm hoping to fully tackle four of the following titles: Metro Redux, Dishonored 2, Battlefield 1, Ratchet & Clank, Final Fantasy XV, Thumper, and Rez Infinite. Other than that, Merry Christmas to you all!

Ken Talbot, Reviewer

Christmas is a time of reflection, which for me usually means thinking about all the money I've spent on games this year. To make it all worthwhile I'm using the festive sales lull to clear my backlog. The Last Guardian, Street Fighter V story mode, Fallout 4 DLC, Final Fantasy XV bounties and dungeons, and so much more besides. 'Tis the season.

Sam Brooke, Reviewer

On Christmas Eve I'll be returning home from Austria, fattened up from the constant bratwurst and lebkuchen I've ingested and ready to get stuck into my backlog. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be first on my list, while I also hope to power through both The Witcher 3 DLCs. Inevitably (and embarrassingly) Just Dance 2017 will be broken out when friends are round, but if there's a way to celebrate Christmas that doesn't involve Earth Wind and Fire's 'September' then I don't want to hear it.

Simon Fitzgerald, Reviewer

Wow, it's Christmas time again, and so it brings plenty of time for me to clear some of my backlog of games. First up is Skyrim Special Edition; I'm looking forward to getting back to slaying dragons and wasting huge amounts of time wandering around aimlessly in the wonderful environments. I also picked up God of War III Remastered cheaply in the sale and have yet to try it out, lets hope I'm worthy of playing a God. Other than that, a few of the usual offenders will be whisked out; Overwatch and Rocket League are sure to tide me over to the New Year.

Stephen Tailby, Reviewer

I'm hoping I'll be in for some fantastic gaming this holiday weekend. The Last Guardian and Dishonored 2 are top of my list. I can't wait to play the former much longer, especially knowing it's out now, and I absolutely loved Dishonored. Either way, I'll be throwing in some multiplayer titles with friends, such as Overcooked, Towerfall Ascension, and Worms WMD. We'll have a jolly old time, and I hope you all do, too. Happy holidays.

Victor Nowogurski, Moderator

First of all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. With that said, this weekend I am planning some gaming, but how much depends on family. So I will hopefully be wrapping up some Holiday skin hunting on Overwatch and holiday camo hunting in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.

Right, quit stuffing your face with Mince Pies and Milk Tray – it's time to start talking games. What's on your Christmas agenda this year? Show some seasonal spirit in the comments section below.