History Main / HolidayMode

* ''VideoGame/{{Satisfactory}}'' introduced the ''Ficsmas'' event in the December 2020 update, which adds a new tech tree related to Christmas to unlockn that provides holiday-themed items and ultimately a Christmas tree constructor that spews out presents. Additionally, the power poles are decorated and your lizard doggos all spew reindeer horns and a red shiny nose.

* ''VideoGame/RivalsOfAether'' has a rotating list of skins selectable at different times of the year, in relation to major American holidays and also [[BeackEpisode the summer in general]]. Namely Valentine's Day, summer time, Halloween, and Christmas.

%%This page's examples section is sorted alphabetically. It would be lovely if you'd maintain this, thanks.

* ''Christmas [=NiGHTS=]'' was a one level demo of ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, whose main feature not present in the original game was to change the graphics and models based on the time of year. One of the fan favourites was on April Fools' Day, where Reala's character model would replace that of [=NiGHTS=]!
** And on the UpdatedRerelease on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, the Christmas [=NiGHTS=] mode also exists.
** Really, most games that feature [=NiGHTS=] (even as a cameo) have some special event on both Christmas and April Fools' Day. For example in ''VideoGame/SonicShuffle'', Lumina's model would be replaced with [=NiGHTS=]' on Christmas Eve. In ''VideoGame/NiGHTSJourneyOfDreams'', the My Dream room's music would change on these holidays.
** While on the topic of ''Journey of Dreams'', the game was even announced on April 1st and released Christmas season of the same year.

* ''VideoGame/KeyWe'' runs through several various holidays during the year. The player needs to send out large amounts of love notes during Valentine's Day. Ghosts and monsters haunt the post office during Halloween as the player is tasked with boxing and shipping candy, and then the holiday rush kicks into fall gear during Christmas time.

* ''VideoGame/FireworksManiaAnExplosiveSimualtor gets skinned with various holiday decorations themed around various holidays around the world that involve fireworks such as Australia Day (January 26), Chinese New Year, Canada Day (July 1), Independence Day (July 4), Diwali (mid-fall), and New Year's Eve which has decorations worldwide.

* ''VideoGame/KeyWe'' runs through several various holidays during the year. Ghosts and monsters hanut the post office during Halloween as the player is tasked with boxing and shipping candy, and then the holiday rush kicks into fall gear during Christmas time.

* ''VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery'' has special effects for Mondays, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Christmas, New Year, and the game creator Thomas Biskup's birthday (July 2nd). In a twist to this trope, the first two examples give a penalty rather than a bonus to the player - a very mild one in the first case, a rather nasty one in the second.
* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' famously celebrates holidays. The Japanese version would have events themed after holidays such as Golden Week, while the localized American version celebrated Labor Day and other U.S. holidays. Internationally known holidays like Christmas and Halloween were celebrated in all versions. The later games, however, celebrated made-up holidays instead, to make localization easier. ''City Folk'' and ''New Leaf'' bring back regional holidays, and keeps them enabled during Wi-Fi play, encouraging people to visit international friends to participate in their holidays.

** In ''New Leaf,'' talking to K.K. Slider on the Saturday before your birthday (or the day of if your birthday falls on a Saturday) leads to him playing a special birthday song for you, only obtainable this way. And then on the day of your birthday, the few villagers with the highest affection for you will actually hold a surprise party for you.

** ''Ride/TheHauntedMansion'' is given an overlay based on ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' during December.

* ''VideoGame/{{Homescapes}}'' features dozens of special holiday events. Major Western holidays are represented, including Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, but there are also celebrations from Eastern countries, including Diwali (the Indian Festival of Lights) and Chinese New Year. There are even more generic celebrations like "Wedding Season" (June) and Venetian Carnival (August). These limited events allow players to obtain new furniture and decorations for rooms in the house and especially the front garden; anything unlocked is permanently saved, allowing players to cycle through whatever decorations they like (although conversely, anything the player ''doesn't'' win is LostForever).

* Playing ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Puyo Puyo SUN]]'' during the month of December will stick the characters in Santa costumes in the game's Sound Test.

* In ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawl'', if you play on an online server during the Christmas season, Cocytus, the icy Hell, is renamed The North Pole, and Antaeus, the boss of the area, has his appearance change to a more festive look[[http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Antaeus]]. This does not make the area any less challenging.

* Around Christmas time, ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' allowed players to download a patch which added a Christmas tree to Station Square. Its sequel featured unlockable costumes for both Halloween and Christmas.

* In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble'', inputting a code in the file select screen changes the bonus room's music and bonus item look to a Christmas theme.

* After beating ''VideoGame/{{D2}}'' and sitting through the end credits, a clock appears counting down to (or the time past) December 31, 1999. If the player alters the [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]]'s internal clock so that this post-credits display reaches midnight on New Year's Day, it triggers the message "Welcome to the 21st Century!" Not only that, but if you try to play a Dreamcast demo disc from the official magazine around Christmas the background will be Christmas themed.

* As if ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' wasn't already NintendoHard enough, [[http://kotaku.com/5393483/demons-souls-gets-even-harder-for-halloween play it online on Halloween 2009]], where it will temporarily become Nintendo Hard'''[[UpToEleven er]]'''.

* In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', going to see Calendar Man on certain holidays will result in him telling you a story about a crime he committed on that day. On Mother's Day and Father's Day when he [[spoiler:tells you how he killed his mother and father on those days]]. Never said Holiday Mode had to have cheery events! Doing this for all the holidays is required for the "Storyteller" achievement.

* ''VideoGame/AliceInTheMirrorsOfAlbion'' celebrates the holiday seasons by triggering special locations, quests, monsters and items related to the event in question. For example, during Valentine's season, we are allowed to explore a wedding hall, and trade with the bride & bridegroom, as well as the musicians and flower girls, and some cupids. At Easter, the Easter Garden appears, and the player could encounter Easter Bunnies and the likes.

* Turn on a Nintendo DS on your birthday (which you can input into its memory) and you get a special activation jingle, as well as a birthday notification in [=PictoChat=]. Sadly, the [=DSi=] does not do this. Photos and videos made with the [=3DS=] Camera on the set birthday will be put under a heading marked with a cake instead of the numerical date.

* ''VideoGame/Dota2'' has events that happen around holidays, such as Frostivus for Christmas, Diretide for Halloween, and the New Bloom festival for Chinese New Year. Frostivus, in a RunningGag, is usually cancelled and replaced with a different event, such as the Greevling and Wraith Night.

* Similarly, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' celebrates various holidays, as filtered through Eorzean names and customs. These include Valentione's Day (Valentine's Day, a carry-over from ''XI''), Heavensturn (Chinese New Year's), Hatching-tide (Easter), Firefall[=/=]Moonfire Faire (an original holiday that corresponds with fireworks-centric holidays like Independence Day), The Rising (another original holiday celebrating the anniversary of the release of ''A Realm Reborn''), Little Ladies' Day (Girl's Day in Japan), All Saints' Wake (Halloween), and the Starlight Festival (Christmas).

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' has several seasonal events[[note]]specifically, Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year, January), Archives[=/=]Uprising (late April[=/=]early May), [[MilestoneCelebration Anniversary]] (late May[=/=]early June), [[TheOlympics Summer Games]] (August), [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Terror]] (October), and [[ChristmasEpisode Winter Wonderland]] (December)[[/note]]. During these events, several of the levels are redecorated to fit the theme, special themed game modes are available, players can get themed [[CosmeticAward cosmetics]] that aren't available the rest of the year, and some heroes will occasionally say special lines of chatter. Outside of special events, the heroes will sometimes say something appropriate to the time of year as well; they'l make New Years' resolutions on January 1, or they'll [[ShipTease tease certain ships]] during Valentine's/White Day.

** The Mobile edition gains several minor holidays with their own special items and, in the case of Easter and Thanksgiving, special bosses. These include: The Chinese New Year in January, Valentine's Day in February, St. Patrick's Day from March 5th to 31st, Easter throughout April, Oktoberfest from September 27th to Oktober 31st and Thanksgiving throughout November. Valentine's Day, Easter and Thanksgiving is also shared with the 3DS version. (The Wiesnbräu of Oktoberfest is present but not the rest of the items in the 3DS version and while the Guide mentions St. Patrick's Day, it also doesn't occur in the 3DS version).

* Bizhawk shows red/green static during Christmas and tunes it into a music tune.