1. Animal Crossing (GameCube, 2002)
Whereas most of the games on this list halfheartedly touch on holiday themes, the first Animal Crossing absolutely buries you in gift-giving cheer. It uses the GameCube's internal clock to "know" the exact date down to the second - so, once winter rolls around, snow starts to fall, lights appear in trees and special "Christmas Remix" editions of the in-game music take over. Even the lovable townsfolk get into the act.
Palworld dev says the studio went dark for months because "the team was getting burnt out from all the social media stuff, I was getting burnt out, our CEO was under attack in Japan"
Metaphor: ReFantazio had to dial back an early battle system inspired by a notoriously brutal 2003 JRPG, because 20 years later, players found it "irrational" and "just not fun"
