Whether you're visiting with friends and family or reserving precious moments of peace and quiet for yourself, hopefully your winter break offers you a chance to spend more time with what really matters at this time of year: video games.

But which ones? We’ve put together a fun selection of games across a multitude of genres that should bring you delight, no matter your particular circumstances—whether you're looking for games to play with friends, games to distract your kids, or games to completely absorb you into the wee wintry hours.

 

Couch co-op games

Split Fiction

A two-player and two-genre game, Split Fiction has you and a friend cooperating as Mio and Zoe—one in a science fiction future, the other in a medieval fantasy world, but both working together to reunite. Developers Hazelight Studios have further cemented their rule as kings and queens of the co-op genre, with Split Fiction following It Takes Two and A Way Out. 

Henry Halfhead

Henry doesn’t have half a head. Henry is half a head. A result of this peculiarity is that when he jumps onto any inanimate object, he becomes it, allowing him to solve puzzles or cause chaos. And in co-op, Henry is joined by his sister, allowing two people to collaborate and doubling the potential mayhem.

LEGO Voyagers

Exclusively two-person co-op, LEGO Voyagers is all about play and friendship, which is lovely. Oh, and the two of you are playing as LEGO bricks, allowing you to snap together to solve the game’s set-piece puzzles! Be the brick! A brilliant choice if you want to play a game with a kid. 

 

Fun family games

Popucom

With a big emphasis on teamwork, Popucom is a perfect way for kids and adults to play alongside each other. It’s a bonkers combination of platforming, puzzling, and even match-3 shooting, with a bunch of arcade minigames to break up the action. Need some help navigating that mash-up of genres? Try our guide. 

LEGO Fortnite Odyssey

The combination of LEGO and Fortnite has proven incredibly successful, and LEGO Fortnite Odyssey turns it into an open-world survival game where you can play with up to seven others. You and your family can gather resources, build homes, and even ward off predatory animals, making the game as easy or difficult as you wish. 

Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny

Just the presence of your kids’ favorite Nicktoons is a draw here, but the fact that it’s a co-op action-RPG means you’ll feel involved too. Think of it as a kid-friendly Diablo—and as such, the proper training they need to be a teenager.

 

Local versus games

EA SPORTS FC 26

The series formerly-known-as-FIFA continues to be the way to play soccer with your friends—or “football with your chums” to use the appropriate parlance. Boot up some of football’s longtime rivalries, like England versus Scotland, or England versus Argentina, or England versus every other team in the world, and kick and dribble your way through the winter break. Top tip: Memorize our favorite meta formations to give yourself a tactical edge. 

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

It takes a lot for a kart racing game to be able to hold its own against Mario, but Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds gives PC players a reason to gather around one screen with gamepads in-hand. You can race your friends with the game’s splitscreen mode, zooming through constantly changing worlds inspired by Sonic’s past.  

Mortal Kombat 1

“BIFF! KAPOW! KICK! FINISH HIM!” Some actual recorded footage of Mortal Kombat 1 there for you. Grab an (adult) buddy and kick the blood and bones out of one another in this revival of the classic fighting game series. It is staggeringly violent (and revels in it), so be prepared to see things break. 

 

Online co-op games

Satisfactory

The extraordinary Satisfactory has you designing intricate manufacturing systems on a vast scale, but in first-person, on an alien planet, with hostile critters getting underfoot. Grab some buddies and build snaking, looping factories, automating more and more as you explore deeper into a vast planet filled with resources. 

Out of Time

The repeated pattern of failure and restarting in roguelites can be a lonely business, so why not drag in a friend to your Sisyphean task? Out of Time is a co-op third-person action roguelite where you’ve always got someone else to blame when it all goes wrong. Who's the weak link in your friend group? It could never be you—at least, not if you read our guide. 

PowerWash Simulator 2

If you thought that the sublime and cathartic joy of PowerWash Simulator couldn’t get any better, try cleaning the dirt off vehicles, buildings and alien artefacts with a friend joining in too. Online co-op means two of you can get jetwashing as a team, stripping grime in tandem. 

 

Free games

Where Winds Meet

An epic open-world action-RPG, but it’s also free? It’s true, and Where Winds Meet is a massive hit. Head off on an introspective journey through 10th century China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, with the option to play in co-op alongside up to four other people too. You can even show off some uncanny knowledge with our Where Winds Meet guide. 

skate.

EA’s relaunch of Skate sees the skateboarding series return for free with an online-enabled open world where you join up to 150 players and grind the rails of San Vansterdam. The game is currently in long-term Early Access, with a years-long plan for new content and the intention of growing and changing in response to its players. Make the best start you can with our Skate beginner’s guide. 

Infinity Nikki

A cozy open-world game where fashion is more important than combat, Infinity Nikki is a gacha game about exploring, solving puzzles, and looking amazing while doing it. Dressing up is a proper part of the game, with different outfits conferring different abilities to the player. And it has one of the best photo modes in all of gaming. 

 

Games to help escape

Escape from Duckov

This twin-stick extraction shooter about, er, ducks might look silly, but it’s a wonderfully engaging game of loot grinding, base-building, and daring to explore a little further into the lands of militant birds. Think Escape From Tarkov, but with a little less pressure.

Promise Mascot Agency

Promise Mascot Agency is an open-world game about running a chaotic mascot business where the characters are sentient and unpredictable. It’s incredibly self-affirming, a little crazy, and unlike anything else you’ve ever played—so if you need help, read our Promise Mascot Agency guide. 

Football Manager 26

If you know, you know. If you don’t, then Football Manager 26 could be the first time you discover how managing your own soccer team can absorb you to the point where you look up and it’s somehow 4 AM…the following Wednesday. Watch as your perfect plans and tactical triumphs come crashing down when your best player tweaks his hamstring. Then, hit the transfer market and pick up a bargain.