The 10 Best Winter Wonderland Levels In Gaming

We're dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones that game developers love to include in their games. So here's to the finest snowy, winter wonderland levels ever developed.

By Simon Gallagher /

According to the weather forecast, Britain is set to enjoy a balmy Christmas Day this year, with temperatures "soaring" up towards 13 degrees in some places - so we can probably all expect a catastrophic blizzard to hit in the next couple of days. It's all a work of fiction! To celebrate, and to ease the pain of potentially not being able to leave the house for days, we're presenting the very best snow and winter based levels from all of Gaming History. Well, some of it, anyway.

10. Freezeezy Peak - Banjo Kazooie

A beautifully designed level, full of festive cheer and charm in typical Kazooie fashion. It might not be the most difficult level on this list, nor the most complex in terms of mechanics but it looks wonderful, and works as a simple but effectively engaging collection style quest. Extra points go to Rare here for keeping to the modern idea of the family unit, with a terribly irresponsible father figure who has left his children home alone without any Christmas presents: a chilling endictment of the Broken Family. "My stomach hurts, I shouldn't have eaten that shiny thing." Well, I mean, OBVIOUSLY.