Holiday Season Gaming is knocking at our proverbial door, and you know what that means: it's time to get cozy with some of the best PC games releases in 2020! Now, to make things clear: the games you're about to see aren't necessarily the best of the best. We'll have a top list of our favorite games a bit later on. Instead, this is a list of, perhaps, less high-profile titles that still warrant a playthrough for this or that reason.

Our aim was to cover a wide variety of genres and niches! We've got short, burst-like action-adventures. We've got large, sprawling sandbox RPGs. There's a sports game on this list, too, as well as an incredible looter-shooter. All the PC titles listed here are practically essential in their own right, and we'll try our best to explain why that's the case in the following few paragraphs.

A particular thing to note was that we also took playtime into account while assembling this list. While we're sure everyone understands the appeal of a huge open-world action game, the holiday season might not be the best for this type of thing. We'll denote how much time it might take to wrap up each of these games, too.

Holiday Season Gaming - Our Top 10 Picks

One last thing before we get started: we decided not to include indie games on this list, and we didn't want to get too caught up in expansion sets and DLCs, either. You can find dedicated articles for those games using the following links, however!

If you've been with us for a while now, you may recall that we had a bunch of Christmas-themed articles last year, too. Good news: most of them are still pretty darn relevant! Others will be getting a new version soon, however, so be sure to look forward to that.

Ghostrunner - For those who need more cyberpunk

Ghostrunner may not have been the cyberpunk game many of us had been waiting for, but it's nothing if not a quality product. Essentially a futuristic Hotline Miami viewed from a first-person perspective, this is a 3D platformer the likes of which we really don't get enough of. The game is awesomely brutal, fast, and incredibly satisfying. Best of all? If you're short on time, you can crank it out in just a few holiday afternoons, and the bite-sized levels are just perfect for quick bursts of gaming now and then. If you're a completionist, you're going to be a huge fan of Ghostrunner's uniquely awesome list of collectible swords. Gotta... slice them all?

DOOM Eternal - For those who've got a bone to pick

DOOM Eternal launched to critical acclaim, but it also shot right to the top of our list of all-time favorite FPS titles. The game is a logical evolution of its 2016 predecessor: a ballet of bullets, blood, and gore that quickly ramps up to breathtaking levels - pun totally not intended. Busy professionals probably didn't have much time to enjoy Eternal back when it first came out, but if you're looking for a high-octane shooter to partake in during Christmastime, this is probably it. Another thing worth mentioning: the game's DLC is pretty darn awesome, too, and there's more coming soon!

Star Wars: Squadrons - For those who want to dogfight the Force

A real treat both for Star Wars fans and for those who are just really into space dogfighting games, Star Wars Squadrons ended up being phenomenal  despite there being so little hype around it. In fact, Squadrons offers not only a remarkably engaging campaign mode but also a more than decent multiplayer component. It's not a massive gaming experience, don't get us wrong, but it's awesome in its own right. After a number of strange choices far as this IP goes, EA managed to crank out two incredible Star Wars games one after another, and fans presumably let out a collective sigh of relief. Keep 'em coming!

Yakuza: Like a Dragon - For those who want to get weird and get lost in Japan

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The first proper longboi on this list, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a significant time investment. When all is said and done, you'll have easily spent fifty hours or more, and that's not even taking into account all the ridiculous mini-games and whatnot that are emblematic of the Yakuza franchise. Look, we won't joke around: Like a Dragon straight-up isn't for everyone. However, if you'd like a game you can really engage with and that will almost certainly last you a long while after the holiday season, this may well be your golden ticket.

Mafia: Definitive Edition - For those who want to wield a Tommy gun

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In an exciting turn of events, this year's rework, remaster, and re-release of the very first Mafia game ended up being a lovely highlight. After all, the original is a classic all of its own, and we're more than happy to say that the Definitive Edition lives up to its prestige. Fans of mafioso stories will find plenty to love here: from a true-to-form narrative all the way to exciting combat and driving mechanics. Perhaps best of all: Mafia's Definitive Edition shouldn't take nearly as much of your time to wrap up as you might think it would. With just over a dozen hours of playtime looped around its main narrative, this is perfect for those gamers who are still pretty busy even during their holiday season gaming sessions.

FIFA 21 - For those who just want to play football

There's honestly not much we can say about FIFA 21 that you don't already know. Generally speaking, the game is a real hoot, and almost certainly the most advanced football gaming experience you can get on PC. Of course, if you're a long-time fan, you probably already own a copy, but if you're looking to make a humble foray into this particular niche, you could hardly pick a better first choice. If we had to choose just one thing we'd criticize about FIFA 21, then it would have to be EA's decision to forego next-gen improvements on PC. Even with that, though, the game looks and runs phenomenally well.

Horizon: Zero Dawn (Frozen Wilds) - For those who want an immersive gaming experience

Horizon: Zero Dawn only just launched on PC this year, and it came with its incredible Frozen Wilds expansion on top of everything else that's awesome about it! Really, it's a must-have on your holiday season gaming list, with the obvious caveat being that its optimization wasn't the best at launch. Depending on how snowed-in you want your robo-combat to get, you might opt for either the base game or its Frozen Wilds DLC, but both are downright incredible gaming experiences through-and-through. It will, mind, take you a while to play through Horizon. For better or worse, this is definitely something you ought to be keeping in mind.

Maneater - For those who just want to eat people (we don't judge)

Maneater is a special little game, no matter how you chew it up. The premise is delightfully simple: you're a friggin' man-eating shark, and you need to eat everything you find. Along the way, you get to mutate your body and turn into a veritable killing machine, which guarantees heaps of fun. Naturally, the game is as bloody and brimming with gore as it gets, so you're probably going to want to keep kiddos away from Maneater. One of the best things about this game is its accessibility. Maneater's RPG features come quickly and furiously, and you'll be leveling up in no time at all. This makes it just right for 20-30 minutes of playtime between the usual holiday obligations you might have!

Journey to the Savage Planet - For those who love pulp sci-fi

For all its qualities and features that would make perfect sense in a video game, it's remarkably rare that we get a genuinely pulpy sci-fi title. Thankfully, 2020 has graced us with a lovely offering in that regard with Journey to the Savage Planet. If you know pulp, you know what you're about: ridiculousness waits behind every corner, and the narrative's only role is that it ought to make you laugh and keep you going from one encounter to the next. The game is fun, and y'know, sometimes that's precisely what you need.

Crusader Kings III - For those who wish to rule the lands

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Crusader Kings III is the latest and greatest entry in Paradox Interactive's most popular franchise, and it's hardly a secret that it's absolute friggin' cocaine if you're into 4X RPGs. True enough, it doesn't have almost a decade's worth of DLC like its predecessor has, but it's a very good sign if CKIII can put up a fight with that, isn't it? We found ourselves completely enamored with this "historical" RPG, and sometimes, we need to be physically restrained not to go back to playing it all night long. Makes for a nice conclusion to our holiday season gaming list, doesn't it?

Are you ready for Holiday Season Gaming?

How'd you like our holiday season gaming list? Agree with it? Disagree? Fret not- we'll have plenty more content coming your way soon, and we're sure some of it will tickle your fancy sooner or later. In fact, if you were to hypothetically tune in tomorrow, you may very well get an early scoop on our humongous holiday sale... but you didn't hear that from us!

In the meantime, let us tell you about some of the rest of our content. Did you know, for example, that Amplitude's Civ-alike Humankind is currently undergoing its second Beta testing phase? You could even join in on the fun, if you are so inclined. If your PC isn't quite up-to-par, however, perhaps our list of the greatest low-spec games released in 2020 might be more interesting?

We did also cover two more lovely indie games that released earlier this month: we couldn't fit them into our list of greatest 2020 indies, but both are well worth your time and attention. Finally, if you're too busy to play games because you're looking ahead to something that's coming out in 2021, maybe check out our comprehensive list of PC game releases for the next year! All sorts of exciting stuff, as we promised. Good luck!

Holiday Season Gaming is knocking at our proverbial door, and you know what that means: it’s time to get cozy with some of the best PC games releases in 2020! Now, to make things clear: the games you’re about to see aren’t necessarily the best of the best. We’ll have a top list of our favorite games […]