10 Times Santa Infiltrated Video Games
#10: Sadistic Claus
“Dead Rising 4” (2016) Of course we have to have Dead Rising 4 on this list. The game centers around the holidays and has the mall and town we explore covered in Christmas decorations. Since we spend so much time in the mall, let's talk about the mall Santa. Sadistic Claus went insane during the outbreak. He’s been killing off survivors and stuffing their corpses with gifts - ahh, the season of giving. Sadistic Claus isn’t alone, he also has other murderous survivors dressed as elves. If players are able to take Sadistic Claus down, they’ll receive his weapon, the Electric Axe. I’m pretty sure Frank just wanted to tell him what he wanted for Christmas.
#9: Sumo Claus
“Clay Fighter 63 ⅓” (1997) There are many Santas, and Sumo Claus is just another clone of the big man, but he’s evil. Sumo Claus took over the North Pole, but that’s not enough. He wants to take over the world. Sumo Claus teams up with Dr. Kiln and must take out all the other Clayfighters to do so. I know, the story of the game doesn’t make sense to me either. In Clay Fighter Sculptor’s Cut, Sumo Claus is actually good and goes to Claymodo for a warmer location for his workshop. That explains why his shirt is always off.
#8: Badass Santa
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“Killing Floor 2” (2016) The Killing Floor series is all about being aggressive and just… killing. The Badass Santa DLC was released December 4th, 2018 and let players take control of the jolly big man himself. This isn’t just a skin of another character, this is an all new character voiced by Gary Busey. The DLC pack also came with six different outfits and an eyepatch and backpack design. Santa and Killing Floor seems like an odd pairing, but there’s nothing more jolly than having the big guy mow down waves of baddies while going after Krampus.
#7: Dropping Presents
“ToeJam & Earl” (1991) While the funky duo hunt for the wreckage from their spaceship, you may notice Santa rummaging through his bag full of presents. If we’re able to sneak up on him we can get one. The first ToeJam & Earl game isn’t the only game where we can find Santa. In ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth, we can find presents throughout the winter level and can even spot Santa himself. While we can’t interact with the big man, we do see a few of his little helpers wandering around. Hopefully ToeJam & Earl aren’t on the naughty list, because Santa seems to find his way around them a good bit.
#6: Santa 47
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“Hitman” (2016) Remember staying up late to catch a glimpse of Santa when we were kids? Well, we finally can do just that in “Hitman”. In the Holiday Hoarders mission there is a room decorated with a beautiful Christmas tree and a fireplace. If we wait around we can see Santa magically appear in front of it. Of course, we knock him out to steal his outfit. We can hear Agent 47 even say Santa's famous ho ho ho’s from time to time. Since we’re Santa now, maybe we should make our escape through the chimney.
#5: Don’t Stop Believing
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“Secret of Mana” (1993) Ever wonder what would happen if kids stopped believing in Santa? Well, it turns out he would go crazy and try to grow a Mana Christmas tree to get people to believe again. Santa uses the Mana Seed of Fire to restore belief in him. The Seed of Fire corrupts jolly saint Nick and transforms him into Frost Gigas. Luckily, when we defeat Frost Giga everything goes back to normal. Santa is, well, Santa again. See this is why we never stop believing.
#4: Ho Ho Hobo Santa
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“Bully” (2006) Bully is full of interesting and diverse characters and Rudy the Red Nosed Santa is definitely one of them. Now this Santa may not be very jolly, but we still have to help him, ‘tis the season after all. Rudy isn’t happy with how his workshop looks. In this mission we have to look for Christmas decorating or anything that sparkles. Once we get the shop looking more festive we can finally have kids tell Santa what they want for Chrtistmas. Let’s just hope they don’t smell his whisky breath while on his lap.
#3: Advertising Santa
“Shenmue” (1999) Shenmue tries to be as close to realistic as possible when it comes to the world and what goes on in it. Weeks leading up to Christmas we will start seeing the shopping district decorated with Christmas banners and hear holiday music in the background. While going through the shopping district we can run into Santa - well, it’s not actually Santa, but someone dressed as Santa - telling shoppers about deals and depending on what time you see him will determine what shops he tells you about. During the day you may hear about restaurants, but at night he’ll tell you about bars.
#2: Bad Santa
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“Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko” (1998) Some would say that Gex 3 has one of the best Christmas themed levels ever, and that may very well be true. In Gex 3, players will have to take out Evil Santa. Evil Santa will throw presents at Gex that can easily be hit with a tail whip. While Evil Santa may be a pushover of a boss, the level is the real star here. It’s set in the North Pole and is full of snowy missions, like creating five ice sculptures and defeating five snowboarding elves. Why do so many games make Santa evil?
#1: Jingle
“Animal Crossing Series” (2001-20) Is there anything cuter than Jingle in Animal Crossing? Probably not. Now we may be cheating here as Jingle isn’t Santa per say, but they do share all the same characteristics. Jingle is jolly, wears a red suit, gives out toys, and only appears around the holidays. On December 24th or Toy Day, Jingle will appear in your town and hand out gifts. The gifts are from the Jingle set which are holiday themed items. Jingle has appeared in every Animal Crossing game including spin-offs like Happy Home Designer and Pocket Camp.
