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The Holiday Story

The Holiday Story Game Cover
67%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:atmosphere, graphics
Most mentioned negative aspects:story, gameplay
67% User Score Based on 55 reviews

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PCWindows
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The Holiday Story Game Cover

About The Holiday Story

The Holiday Story is a single player survival simulation game with horror and thriller themes. It was developed by JustTomcuk and was released on November 15, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

The Holiday Story is an indie horror game about Christmas and New Year, set in the 80s.

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The Holiday Story screenshot
The Holiday Story screenshot
The Holiday Story screenshot
The Holiday Story screenshot
The Holiday Story screenshot
The Holiday Story screenshot
The Holiday Story screenshot
The Holiday Story screenshot
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Reviews

67%Audience ScoreBased on 55 reviews
atmosphere6 positive mentions
optimization3 negative mentions
  • Strong and immersive holiday-themed atmosphere with effective sound design that builds tension gradually.
  • Visually appealing retro-inspired style that complements the nostalgic and unsettling tone.
  • Short, focused gameplay ideal for a quick, eerie horror experience with a surprising twist ending.
  • Technical issues including poor optimization, frame rate drops, and bugs affecting controls and movement.
  • Limited gameplay depth with minimal interactivity, causing some frustration especially with item interaction and pacing.
  • Narrative and ending felt underdeveloped or unsatisfying, leaving many players wanting more story clarity or options.

  • atmosphere

    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions

    The game excels in creating a focused, creepy atmosphere with effective sound design and nostalgic visuals, successfully building tension gradually rather than relying heavily on jump scares. While its short length and occasional pacing issues may leave the experience feeling somewhat incomplete, the ambiance and mood largely carry the horror vignette, making it a memorable and engaging holiday-themed horror game.

    • “The game does not rush its transformation, instead allowing tension to build gradually through atmosphere and pacing.”
    • “In the end, the holiday story is a focused and atmospheric horror vignette that succeeds in creating a memorable mood despite its limited scope.”
    • “It perfectly caught the atmosphere of an old electronics store in the 80s, I liked the crunchy snow noises, the animation of the 'bad guy,' and the story was really captivating.”
    • “Just as the atmosphere begins to deepen, the experience comes to an end, which can leave it feeling somewhat incomplete.”
    • “I would love one smooth experience, more tension and atmosphere instead of quick jump scares.”
    • “I really did enjoy the visuals in this one, has nice nostalgia, a few decent jump scares, too many cuts for a game this short, dialogue didn't flow too well, story was alright, the atmosphere didn't hold tension or immersion very well.”

  • story

    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    21% positive mentions, 58% neutral mentions, 21% negative mentions

    The story of "The Holiday Story" is a dark, atmospheric psychological horror set in a nostalgic 80s Christmas setting, delivering a compact and unsettling narrative through ambiguous, fragmented storytelling. While it effectively creates mood and tension with memorable visuals and some twists, its short length and linear structure limit depth and immersion, with some critiques pointing to underdeveloped dialogue and a desire for more varied endings. Overall, it is a solid and captivating horror vignette that fits well within its genre.

    • “The holiday story by justtomcuk is a compact psychological horror experience that takes a familiar seasonal setting and slowly reshapes it into something unsettling and uneasy.”
    • “In the end, the holiday story is a focused and atmospheric horror vignette that succeeds in creating a memorable mood despite its limited scope.”
    • “The narrative is presented in a deliberately ambiguous way, offering fragments rather than a clear and structured story.”
    • “One of the most noticeable limitations of The Holiday Story is its short length.”
    • “The story was the weakest part of the whole experience; would have loved to see some different ending options explored.”

  • graphics

    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    64% positive mentions, 15% neutral mentions, 21% negative mentions

    The game's graphics feature a retro-inspired, nostalgic aesthetic that effectively enhances its mood and atmosphere, with smooth performance and impressive lighting effects. While not highly detailed, the visuals are generally praised for complementing the horror theme, though some minor performance issues and occasional frame drops are noted. Overall, the graphics are considered strong and fitting for the game's style.

    • “A retro-inspired aesthetic adds an extra layer of character, giving the game a slightly nostalgic feel that contrasts with its darker elements.”
    • “The game has top notch Christmas vibes with bloody scary and funny moments and magnificent trippy lighting and visuals that will leave you amazed 10/10.”
    • “Great graphics, great story and the nostalgia hits home with this one, perfect way to start your seasonal horror shenanigans!”
    • “The visuals are much improved from the VHS filter that gets annoying, honestly.”
    • “It gives 'I'm on observation duty' vibes with the graphics and text.”
    • “The graphics are... okay, but the performance just isn't there.”

  • gameplay

    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    25% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 25% negative mentions

    The gameplay is minimalistic, focusing primarily on movement and exploration without complex mechanics or puzzles, which may feel limited to some players. While the unique weeping angel mechanic adds a quirky and entertaining element, the overall pace and gameplay depth can feel slow and underdeveloped. Fans of atmospheric, story-driven experiences may enjoy it, but those seeking more engaging or varied gameplay might find it lacking.

    • “The gameplay is intentionally minimal, focusing almost entirely on movement and observation.”
    • “There are no complex systems, puzzles, or combat mechanics to engage with, and the player’s role is primarily to explore the environment and take in its details.”
    • “The warehouse bit with the toy stalking with the weeping angel mechanic, that took a few attempts haha.”
    • “I have never seen a game apply the weeping angel mechanic so badly until I played this game.”
    • “Everything feels extremely small: the environments, the mechanics, and the overall experience.”
    • “For those looking for deeper gameplay or a more fully developed narrative, it may feel too limited to leave a lasting impression.”

  • optimization

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game is generally considered to have poor optimization, with noticeable performance issues despite acceptable graphics. Some users initially misattributed lag but confirmed the game's performance problems after brief play.

    • “I played this game for 15 minutes and that was enough to see it was very poorly optimized and very poorly made.”
    • “The graphics are okay, but the performance just isn't there.”
    • “So, I can't really speak to it, because my last comment was based on me incorrectly assigning the lag to the game's optimization—since games were playing fine up until that one.”

  • humor

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor in the game blends well with its Christmas theme, delivering a mix of funny and scary moments that surprise and entertain players. The comedic elements effectively contribute to an engaging and memorable experience.

    • “Me and my son were in disbelief and then just started laughing.”
    • “A couple funny moments.”
    • “The game has top notch Christmas vibes with bloody scary & funny moments and magnificent trippy lighting and visuals that will leave you amazed. 10/10”

  • emotional

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game effectively uses ambient sounds and subtle audio cues to evoke emotional tension and immersion. However, some technical issues like frame drops in certain areas may detract from the overall experience.

    • “Ambient noise, faint distortions, and carefully placed audio cues help guide the player’s emotional response, often creating tension even when nothing obvious is happening on screen.”

  • music

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The music is cheerful and festive, complementing the holiday-themed setting filled with bright decorations and a celebratory atmosphere.

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The Holiday Story is a survival simulation game with horror and thriller themes. Common tags for The Holiday Story include first-person, indie, linear, psychological, exploration and others.

The Holiday Story is available on PC and Windows.

The Holiday Story was released on November 15, 2025.

The Holiday Story was developed by JustTomcuk.

The Holiday Story has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked The Holiday Story for its atmosphere but disliked it for its story.

The Holiday Story is a single player game.

Similar games include Psalm 5:9-13, Amenti, Dread flats, Supernormal, Welcome to Kowloon and others.