Christmas is the time of year to spend time with family and friends, binge classic Christmas movies, and yes, game until bags form under your eyes.
Here are our picks for the best games to pick up this Christmas, for the kids, for teens and for adults.
Kids' picks:
For those with younger gamers in the family, this Christmas season has a decent selection of games to pick from.
Chief among them is 'Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart' for PlayStation 5, which plays like a Pixar film come to life.
The classic 'Ratchet and Clank' gameplay has been honed to a fine art, and now it has the visuals to keep up with the chaotic action on screen.
'Knockout City' was one of the years most surprising games, and EA's take on dodgeball is something anyone can pick up and enjoy.
Once you learn the ropes, there is a surprising amount of depth for such a simple-looking game and with constant updates and a kinetic visual style, the game always feels fresh.
If you were to get a game for the younger gamer in your life this Christmas - or indeed, a gamer of any age - you can't go too far wrong with 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' which has become the unexpected hit of the pandemic era.
Another game that is the master of the "simple to pick up, quickly becomes a time sink" genre, 'Animal Crossing' is the perfect way to unwind this Christmas season.
With a new content update just launched for the game, now is the perfect time to get stuck into creating your own slice of life on your Switch - just beware of Tom Nook, that guy is relentless.
'Animal Crossing' represents the best value for money on the market today.
Teens' picks:
For the teen gamer in your life who likes their games quirky and different, 'Psychonauts 2' is a great pick.
From the mind of Tim Schafer, gamings answer to Terry Gilliam, 'Psychonauts 2' is a great game to get stuck into over Christmas.
Tackling complex themes such as identity and mental health in a novel way, the game is also a blast to play, and is one of the more unique games on the market today.
For those with a Switch and want to learn more about their gaming history, there is no better history book than 'Metroid Dread' which showed that games don't have to be flashy and glitzy affairs to provide players with a good time.
A throwback to Samus Aran's older adventures on the SNES, this side-scrolling 2D game is a masterclass in building tension and suspense, with its stealth sequences among the years most tense moments.
'Metroid Dread' is a great pick for gamers old and new, and works just as well for those who never played a 'Metroid' game before and for long-time fans.
'Sam and Max Save The World' is a bit of an unorthodox pick, but for players who like to solve a mystery and meet weird and wonderful characters along the way, this is the game of choice.
'Sam and Max' is a unique and wonderful game where players solve a series of mysteries as Sam, an Irish wolfhound while accompanied by a hyperactive rabbit named Max.
Playing like a mix between a Billy Wilder film and 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit', the game is singularly unique and brilliantly odd, and well worth picking up if you own an Xbox or PC.
For those who value writing and comedy in their games, 'Sam and Max Hit Save The World' is a hysterical way to pass the time this Christmas, while also giving your brain a workout.
Of course, you can't write a gift guide without mentioning something from the superhero sphere, and this year's slot is easily filled by 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'.
While it's not a direct adaptation of the Marvel films' portrayal of the swashbuckling heroes, Square Enix's version of the Guardians is still as quippy and funny as you've come to expect from the series, with great back-and-forth banter between the characters, fun gameplay, and of course, an army of licensed classic rock songs to soundtrack the action.
Square Enix's take on the 'Avengers' last year was a pretty big disappointment, but they have learned their lessons to make 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' one of the best ways to blow off some steam this Christmas.
For the adult gamer in your life
Time loops were weirdly the big trend in gaming this year, and in a weirder coincidence, two of our favourite games of the year prominently feature time loops.
'Returnal' and 'Deathloop' are the Blur and Oasis of the time loop genre that's propped up this year, and if you have the money, pick both!
'Returnal' is a great example of what the PS5 can do when it's pushed to the max, with striking visuals, incredible sound design and is the best example of what the new PS5 controller is capable of.
If you want to get your teeth into a heady, mind-bending sci-fi game this Christmas, you can't go too far wrong with 'Returnal' and the games nightmarish difficulty is a great way to burn off those calories as you lob the controller around the room in frustration.
For those who want a time loop game that's more 'Groundhog Day' than 'Primer', 'Deathloop' is the game for you.
It's one of our favourite games this year for the simple fact the game is impeccably designed within an inch of its life.
The 'Archer' and Sean Connery era 'James Bond' aesthetic in the game is a treat to navigate, the music has a wonderful 60s spy thriller feel to it, and the dialogue between characters is as sharp and cutting as the works of Tarantino or Shane Black.
Players must relive the same day over and over again on a mysterious island and must kill 8 targets in a day before the day resets again.
It's an ingenious premise for a game, and is one of the best games you'll play this year.
On the sci-fi front, we also heartily recommend 'Mass Effect Legendary Edition'.
If you're the type to do a rewatch of 'Star Wars' or 'Lord Of The Rings' every Christmas, 'Mass Effect Legendary Edition' is a new Christmas tradition as it contains three tremendous sci-fi games in one package.
Endlessly replayable, you shape the universe around you, choose which well-rounded and complex characters live or die, and you can choose to play the game as a wholesome 'Ted Lasso' type or as a space 'Dirty Harry'.
We'd also recommend 'Hitman 3' as it engages the part of the brain usually reserved for board games with the family and uses it to great effect.
If you want to be a 'John Wick' style assassin or a meticulously obsessive killer who plans everything out in advance, the game lets you just that, and it's a game where you can easily spend hours wandering around the richly-constructed environments.
Finally, for the historical-minded gamer in your family, why not treat them to the Ultimate Edition of 'Assassins Creed Valhalla' and its 'Wrath Of The Druids' DLC?
The game becomes a living, walking tour of Ireland in the 9th century, and is the closest we'll ever get of visiting the period short of a time machine being invented.
The 'Assassins Creed' games have always been a great way to learn more about history, and with the 'Wrath Of The Druids' DLC, the novelty factor of seeing our very own country rendered in video game form is a real novelty - there's even an achievement for killing the last snake in Ireland!
For everybody
As Dom Toretto tells us, family is important.
If you want to spend some quality time with the family this Christmas or pick a game everyone can enjoy regardless of age, you're well-covered.
One of the years very best games in any genre is 'Forza Horizon 5' and is not just merely a fantastic racing game, it's a fantastic game full stop.
The main objective of 'Forza Horizon 5' is to have fun, and the game achieves the impossible in making the game fun for newcomers or demanding and simulation-like for seasoned racing game fans.
There is always something to do in 'Forza Horizon 5', be it tearing across a cornfield in a Maserati supercar or driving up a mountain in a 1930s Rolls-Royce.
Games are at their best when they are escapist fun, and there is no better game on the market today than 'Forza Horizon 5' for that particular brand of entertainment.
On the same vein, 'Riders Republic' is a sports game that combines elements from the likes of 'SSX', 'Steep' and 'The Crew' to create the best value winter holiday you'll ever have.
With 'Riders Republic' you can create your very own winter sports holiday from the comfort of your own home and without having to pay €2,000 for the privlege.
If you want to hit the slopes or cycle down a mountain, but don't want to leave your couch, 'Riders Republic' has you covered and is fun for all ages.
Finally, this summer saw the nation unite behind the mighty Kellie Harrington and Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy as they took home Olympic gold and you can replicate the same thrill with the official Olympics video game from Sega.
2 players can compete with each other in a series of Olympic events, and the game has hilarious customisation elements - ever wanted to see Sonic the Hedgehog run in the Olympics or see a cowboy play tennis? This game lets you do just that.
And finally, it wouldn't be a Christmas with family and friends without a few rounds of FIFA, and we have a few copies to give away to some of our readers - if you want to be the Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola of your house this year by securing a copy, look no further!
There you have it, 16 games to make the gamer in your life happy this Christmas - did we miss out on anything? Let us know on our social media pages.
