Well, Christmas has come and gone again, and all that’s left is to enjoy the last little bit of quiet before the new year arrives. Between the parties, gatherings and get-togethers, what games do you like to play as you sit back and enjoy the quiet moments here at the end of the year? Do you play new ones, or are there a handful that you like to come back to year after year? As for me, it’s the latter case.

Animal Crossing

One of the great things about Animal Crossing is that you can come back to it any time and pick up more or less where you left off. You might have to pull a few weeds and deal with a few “where’ve you been?” questions, but otherwise it’s as if you were just on vacation for a few weeks. This makes it easy to come back year after year to enjoy the New Year’s and Jingle Day events.

I absolutely love doing so too! There’s something about these events that’s just so warm and lovely! It’s no substitute for the IRL parties and gatherings with friends, but they are a wonderful compliment to them in the quiet parts of night once the real parties are done.

Mario Party

One of my favorite things to do during the nice little bit of off-time here at year’s end is to gather ’round one of Nintendo’s gaming machines and play a nice round of Mario Party with my old friends. The game might be infamous as a “friendship-ender”, but it’s still managed to endure as a mainstay among my little group.

It’s a chance for a little bit of good-hearted ribbing and trash talk, but also an opportunity to just hang out and talk about what’s going on in the world. For me, living here on the other side of the world, it’s also a means of staying connected to everyone, one that I cannot help but wonder how much longer I’ll have the privilege of enjoying as time marches on and we all continue to get older.

Super Mario 64

I suppose this one could be replaced with any of the mainline Mario games Nintendo’s released over the years since they’re fantastic and super replayable, but there’s some- thing about Super Mario 64 that I feel just…. fits this time of year. Perhaps it’s the idea of the old meeting the new or maybe it’s just because it’s my personal favorite.

Whatever the case, there’s something about running through this one that I can’t get enough of. I can get through the game with almost zero difficulty now too, yet I can still remember just how hard it was back when it was fresh and new. Perhaps that contrast is part of the draw now too. Hmm…

Donkey Kong 64

At some point, I heard about the idea of “Donkey Kong December” and I absolutely loved it…though mostly because I was kind of already doing it. Just like with Super Mario 64, December just feels like the right time for Donkey Kong. To me, that used to mean just the original SNES trilogy, but realizing that “Donkey Kong December” was a thing caused me to add Donkey Kong 64 to the mix.

I’m not sure why it wasn’t always included. DK64 has always had a strong association with winter, snow days and Christmas excitement for me. Maybe because the SNES games are better? Who knows, but that’s fixed now and it’s now a yearly mainstay for me.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest

I’ve been replaying this game every December almost since I first got it all those years ago. Part of the reason is because I think it’s just that good of a game. For real, DKC2 very well might be the perfect old school platformer as far as I’m concerned. The main reason, though, is that I’ve always had someone to enjoy it with me. I dunno, there’s something about sharing a game that makes all the more special, and sharing DKC2 with my friends year after year might have made it the most special game in my collection.

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These are some of my games, but what are some of yours? Let’s talk about them below and then we’ll see you again after the new year to talk about GOTYS and the most exciting releases of 2025!

Image is the Donkey Kong Country box art