Gift giving can be a terrible road to walk down. For every friend and family member in your life is a different personality, one that has its own set of wishes and desires. Trying to find the perfect gift is a Sisyphean task, a grind we put upon ourselves each and every December. We're here to walk down that road with you and, in the process, make you a Christmas legend.
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There are as many games as there are players, and everyone has their own preferences. There are more factors to consider when deciding what to get someone a gift: their playstyle, their time, their expectations and so on. Some like to pick up and go, playing for five minutes then stopping. Others want a full adventure that requires multiple sessions to complete. Decisions, decisions.
This is my completely subjective, totally biased list of potential games you can gift to your friends and family. I’m not including free-to-play (or Get) games because if you gift that to your friends, you’re a really bad friend. I will also not include the mobile titles listed in my Top 10 List, (because you should have those already.) Also not listed are iPad-only titles.
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The first chapters of both Game of Thrones ($4.99; App Store / Google Play) and Tales From The Borderlands ($4.99; App Store) are now available. Impatient GoT fans who have already devoured the books and rewatched the past 4 seasons will find something to love with this brand new adventure with a new set of characters. All the fun, sex and violence...now on your phone! Telltale's Tales From the Borderlands (review) continues the irreverent humor and thrilling action of the FPS RPG series, and features some stunning voice acting.
For young kids who are really into Zelda, I offer two options: Sneaky Sneaky ($2.99; App Store) shares a lot of visual and gameplay mechanics to the original top down Zelda games on the NES and SNES, with a stealthy twist. It’s fun, intuitive but suffers from being a bit too short. Full review HERE. For the more mature kid, the 13 year old niece whom your brother is raising correctly, you should try out Oceanhorn: Monster of the Uncharted Sea ($4.99, sale price; App Store) which may be the closest thing we get to a Wind Waker sequel we ever get.
Not all games need to be seen to be enjoyed. There are a lot of great audio adventures out there for people who maybe can’t see or want to challenge themselves to something new. British developer Somethin’ Else has been churning out a great many titles, like Papa Sangre II ($4.99; App Store), The Nightjar ($3.99; App Store) and their latest, Audio Defence: Zombie Arena ($4.99; App Store) in which you have to use your ears to survive the horde of undead. Read the full review HERE.
This list can go on and on and on. I can get weird and esoteric (Year Walk, $3.99; App Store), to the expansive and exciting (Sorcery! $4.99; App Store) all day long. The mobile games' market has the chance to be the most influential niche on the industry. Everyone already has the necessary hardware; they just need the titles. This holiday season, make sure you get your friends and family the best ones.
