Skip to main content
Tech Radar TechRadar the technology experts
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
  • Phones
  • Computing
  • TVs
  • AI
  • Streaming
  • Health
  • Audio
  • VPN
  • More
    • Cameras
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Opinion
    • How to
    • Versus
    • Deals
    • Coupons
    • Best
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Amazon Prime Day
  • Back to school
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Best VPN
  • ChatGPT
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best laptop
  • Best web hosting
Recommended reading
The Last Campfire screenshot showing a merchant eating over a campfire in a wooded grove
Gaming Best cozy Switch games 2025
Sea of Stars cover art showing protagonists stand back to back against a moonlit forest backdrop
Consoles & PC The 18 best indie games to play in 2025
A knight on horseback walks through a lush, green forest
Gaming The 19 best Steam games 2025
Kratos stands in gold armor at the entrance to a fire-lit temple
Gaming The 21 best single-player games to play in 2025
Three sustainability-themed games (Reus, Terra Nil and Eco)
Consoles & PC 7 sustainability-themed games to celebrate Earth Day
Baldur's Gate 3 official artwork showing Astarion, Showdowheart, Gale, and Tieflings
PC Gaming The 21 best PC games to play in 2025
Art for Sargon jumping through time in Prince of Persia the lost crown
Nintendo Switch Underrated Switch games 2025
  1. Gaming
  2. Consoles & PC

Bah humbug! Best games to help you hide from the holidays

News
By Dom Reseigh-Lincoln published 26 December 2015

Ignore the relentless cheer and get lost in a game-world

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

Ahh, it's the most wonderful time of the year… Wait, no it isn't! It's full of long-lost relatives emerging from the woodwork, rampant social awkwardness and the kind of gift buying culture that will drive you bankrupt before Christmas Day rolls around.

No, you need a getaway. A virtual gateway of escapism that will help you sidestep the uncomfortable aspects of the festive period and embrace a brave new world.

Here at techradar Towers, we love all kinds of games, but we really like the ones that offer worlds and universes rich and Narnia-like in their depth. And with so many games out there across a smorgasbord of platforms, it's easy to lose sight of the wheat through all that pesky chaff.

Well, worry no more. We bring you ten of the most rewarding, absorbing experiences available right now, with stories, characters and settings that will burn through those hard-earned days and weeks off like wildfire.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
NBA 2K16

NBA 2K16

Platform: PS4 / Xbox One / PC / PS3 / Xbox 360

A basketball game? Immersion? Yes! And yes!

Developer Visual Concepts has slowly been building one of the most comprehensive sports simulators in the industry, with the kind of physics and gameplay you can pick up and play with almost no concept of the sport.

Around that core, NBA 2K16 offers a bizarre yet engrossing story mode directed by Spike Lee, the endless 3V3 PVP of MyCourt and the ever stellar MyCareer mode. It's one of the most robust RPGs out there, and one that trades tunics and orcs for jerseys and layups.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Armello

Armello

Platform: PC / PS4

If you're looking to lose yourself in a new world that'll sink its anthropomorphic claws in deep, then Armello is the destination for you. Like a wonderful cross between the Redwall novels and Games Of Thrones, this digital board game combines the dice-rolling fundamentals of a tabletop game and adds in the real-time elements of a regular RPG.

Raid dungeons, hunt other players on the board and carve your way towards the throne occupied by a king who's slowly losing his mind.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
WWE 2K16

WWE 2K16

Platforms: Xbox One / PS4 / Xbox 360 / PS3

Much like NBA 2K16, the latest addition to the WWE simulation brand is the best one in years. A pro wrestling game might appear shallow on the surface, but WWE 2K16 is one of the year's best RPGs wrapped in spandex and body oil.

Apart from the awesome fun of Stone Cold Stunner-ing fools as Steve Austin in the Showcase mode, the MyCareer mode (built upon the deep and rewarding model used in its NBA sibling) offers every nuance of wrestling culture - rivalries, match star ratings, run-ins and more.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Bloodborne

Bloodborne

Platform: PS4

Few games demand time, effort and a large quantity of swear words like the works of auteur Hidetaka Miyazaki. Following the same principles of his Souls series (give you a weapon, make you feel big, then beat your to bloody bits, over and over again), Bloodborne makes the experience slightly more palatable for new players/fresh meat (including more powerful weapons and the ability to regain health if struck by an enemy) and wraps it in a Gothic shroud so beautifully tragic you'll be kissing your TV while gently weeping.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros

Platform: 3DS

The red-capped wonder himself has been making inroads into the often impenetrable world of RPGs for years, and result is some of Nintendo's most rewarding and immersive experiences.

Paper Jam Bros is no wannabe, either - yes, it looks cute, but beneath that sugar coating is a rich and rewarding world as addictive as any RPG on the market. Prepare to sink into the sofa forever if you fire this one up on your Nintendo 3DS.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Need For Speed

Need For Speed

Platform: Xbox One / PS4 / PC

Forza Horizon 2 might have the open-world driving schtick down to a 'tee', but there's something incredibly moreish about Ghost Games' mildly flawed street racer.

Much in the same way that The Crew became an addictive destroyer of free time, NFS wears its arcade aspirations like a proud badge from teacher and makes for a rewarding time sink. Switching between races, drifts and sprints is a joy and few open-worlds look as good as this one.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Elite: Dangerous

Elite: Dangerous

Platform: PC / Xbox One

You want more immersive? You want a world that will suck you in like a ravenous black hole? Elite: Dangerous is an entire universe just waiting to be explored. For those that want a proper recreation of hard science fiction, Elite: Dangerous offers a kind of freedom so broad and so dense it's almost overwhelming.

Become a trader, a pirate and more with a ship that will soon become your closest companion in the dark depths of space.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Rare Replay

Rare Replay

Platform: Xbox One

When it comes to sheer content, few packages can hold a torch to the glorious celebration of Rare's career highlights (okay it doesn't have Donkey Kong Country or Goldeneye 007, but Nintendo has those so stop your belly aching). It packs 30 whole games into one package with a meaty 4,000 gamerpoints up for grabs.

From Banjo to Viva Pinata, Rare Replay is the very definition of diversity.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

Platform: PS4 / PC / Xbox One

Few genres are as demanding as the MMO - and Tamriel Unlimited is no exception. With its monthly subscription scrapped earlier this year, the massively multiplayer online take on the world of The Elder Scrolls is vast as it is ambitious.

If you even had a passing fancy for Skyrim, Tamriel Unlimited will draw you in and drink you dry with its rich storytelling and PvE/PvP gameplay. Play solo or party up with friends - either way you'll be hooked in minutes and lost for days.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Platform: PC / Xbox One / PS4

As if we would feature a list all about searching for the time sinkiest of time sinks and not doff our proverbial caps to the king of life consumption that is The Witcher 3.

CD Projekt RED has created a world so deep and nuanced, you'll find yourself roaming its towns and countrysides in a perpetual state of enchantment. Its combat demands focus, its prerequisites moral fortitude and as for the in-game card game Gwent? Well, let's just say it's a bottomless pit you'll tumble down smiling.

If you still haven't played it through you owe it to your gaming heart to get involved.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln
Read more
The Last Campfire screenshot showing a merchant eating over a campfire in a wooded grove
Best cozy Switch games 2025
Sea of Stars cover art showing protagonists stand back to back against a moonlit forest backdrop
The 18 best indie games to play in 2025
A knight on horseback walks through a lush, green forest
The 19 best Steam games 2025
Kratos stands in gold armor at the entrance to a fire-lit temple
The 21 best single-player games to play in 2025
Three sustainability-themed games (Reus, Terra Nil and Eco)
7 sustainability-themed games to celebrate Earth Day
Baldur's Gate 3 official artwork showing Astarion, Showdowheart, Gale, and Tieflings
The 21 best PC games to play in 2025
Latest in Consoles & PC
Pokémon Legends Z-A
Pokémon Presents returns later this month, hopefully with a new look at Pokémon Legends Z-A ahead of its release date
A PlayStation 5 Pro console with colorful streams of light emanating from its base.
The PS5 lead architect says the PS5 Pro will get an advanced graphics update in 2026 that will deliver better performance
Shadow Labyrinth
Shadow Labyrinth will run at 4K 60fps on Nintendo Switch 2 thanks to a free upgrade
Nintendo Switch 2 overheating
Nintendo Switch 2 owners, beware – some owners are reporting worrisome overheating problems
A screenshot from the game Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach sold me on the PS5 Pro, but I'm still not sure I'd recommend the premium console to everyone just yet
Donkey Kong Bananza on Nintendo Switch 2.
Nintendo reveals that Donkey Kong Bananza is developed by the Super Mario Odyssey team – then confirms grass is still green
Latest in News
Intel Core Ultra processor
Windows 11 desktop PCs could soon get Copilot+ AI powers, as Intel might radically switch tactics with next-gen CPUs
Tokyo Game Show 2025 artwork
PlayStation, Square Enix, and more big studios have been confirmed for Tokyo Game Show 2025 - here's what to expect
G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C16 4x8GB
Rising prices of DDR4, DDR5, GDDR6 RAM set to cause havoc on PC, smartphone and GPU prices - and no, AI is not the one to be blamed
Five characters standing in a room and looking shocked in Blindspot
Netflix might have another Suits-like hit on its hands as unlikely crime thriller makes its way onto the popular streamer's most-watched shows list
Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals season 3 is making big changes to how you earn your rewards, but you can claim extra goodies by simply watching your favorite Twitch streamer play the game
Police
UK Police wants to spend $100 million to turn millions of hours of VHS footage into digital format — now that's something AI could help with
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    Amazon Prime Day Kindle deals are a confusing mess, I can help you find the best bargain and pick only what you need
  2. 2
    I thought this was a mistake – TCL’s new mini-LED TV is 50% off for Prime Day
  3. 3
    The Samsung Galaxy Ring is on sale for its lowest price ever thanks to Prime Day
  4. 4
    I test AR glasses for a living and this is the best Prime Day deal I've seen for a pair this year
  5. 5
    Amazon has a mega Lego sale for Prime Day – here are my 17 picks from $6.99

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...