Astro Bot's latest update makes it a real Christmas game

I’m always looking for a Christmas video game, but it doesn’t look like we have one. We have cold and snowy games, we have Christmas themed games, and we even have a few Santa Claus games. But none of them really get me into the Christmas spirit like movies or music.

I can sing classics like “Step into Christmas” and “Last Christmas,” deep tunes like “Ribbons & Bows” or “Snow Globe,” and modern hits like “Christmas Tree Farm” or “Buy Me Presents,” and it will feel like feel like Christmas. The same is true when I watch “A Muppet Christmas Carol,” “Little Women,” or “Remember The Night.” They all have “the feeling.” Most of Little Women doesn’t even take place on Christmas, and yet it still has the same feel. Now Astro Bot has joined the party.

Astro was already full of Christmas spirit

Astro-Bot flies to the Winter Wonder DLC level. — via Team Asobi

Astro Bot is one of the most entertaining games I’ve ever played. Gaming has gained a cynical audience in recent years, and many (myself included) were suspicious of Astro Bot’s Cameo Festival. Then we got our hands on it and even the coldest of hearts were melted by its sweet nature. It leaves a warm and cozy feeling inside. It might feel a little like Christmas.

But not enough. The spirit of the season needs to be backed by something tangible. There are a few frosty levels in the game, but not really enough to represent Christmas. Something like How The Saints Stole Christmas might prevail for a cozy atmosphere, but the other Christmas games have the advantage of actually being Christmas games and not just evoking a fleeting feeling of happiness. Miles Morales, which takes place over Christmas, has Miles wearing his Santa hat, and has the typical wholesome appeal of Insomniac’s Spider-Man saga, is still in first place.

Or rather, it was like that. Shortly after the first five speedrunning levels, Astro Bot gave us another gift ahead of its 2024 release. Winter Wonder, the game’s newest addition, is a Christmas level through and through, giving players around the world the justification (as if they needed it) to replay Astro Bot every year.

Astro Bot takes us through a winter wonderland

Astro-Bot looks at a large gold gift. — via Team Asobi

This is not just another level of winter. You could probably convince yourself that levels like Creamy Canyon, Frozen Meal, or the speedrunning track Let It Slide counted as Christmas anyway due to their icy appearance. That’s why every Christmas everyone watches “Snowpiercer” and “The Gray” while listening to traditional Christmas songs like “Ice Ice Baby” and “Tenth-Avenue Freeze Out.” This is really a Christmas level. Astro Bot gave us the gift that gaming desperately needed.

As you fly into this level, Santa Claus will float alongside you while a reindeer pulls his sleigh. The level platforms themselves are decorated in red, green and gold and wrapped like presents. The buildings are gingerbread houses decorated with candy canes. In Astro Bot’s typical display of physics prowess, untying wires triggers hundreds of individual bells that ring and jingle as you race through them. In the middle of the level is a Christmas tree with a star on top and decorated with baubles.

Just thinking about it makes me feel Christmassy – and that’s the subtle feeling that other so-called Christmas games just don’t have. This is where the comparison with films comes into play again. “Bad Santa” is clearly a Christmas movie, but it doesn’t make me feel Christmassy. Miracle on 34th Street, which is more similar in many ways than you might think, creates this feeling. Not only does it come from schmaltz – “Die Hard” has a similar effect on me – but it has to feel like a tradition. Something you can imagine doing every year while Christmas is in the air, just like that. I’ll probably play Astro Bot’s level every year, just because.

Every year when we decorate our tree, we play a Muppet Christmas story in the background. This is Christmas. Next year, it’s easy to imagine booting up Astro Bot afterward just to speed through Winter Wonder. I’ll never play the Saints Row DLC again and won’t even bother installing Miles Morales just to swing around in the snow. But Astro Bot is the kind of game I’ll probably keep installed forever, just because. And now I’m going to play through it again for Christmas. You know, just because.