Christmas is here, along with those repetitive songs and gorging on cookies. Sometimes the holiday spirit can be a bit much and one wants to don their more cynical apparel. Instead of caroling or making gingerbread playing video games seems more appealing. Indie game The Elf Who Killed Christmas allows one to do just that!
The Elf Who Killed Christmas is an Android and PC game that boasts carnage and the end of a dictatorship. Turns out that Santa enslaved the elves, brainwashed snowman and yeti all for his own personal gain. The player must help an elf free his people and put an end to Christmas. Down with making toys, up with paid vacations! This sounds like it would make for an interesting game and a fun way to pass the time however, I was completely incorrect.
I try to find the good in every game I play whether it be graphics, plot, or music. When I saw the screenshots for The Elf Who Killed Christmas, I thought it would be like my favorite mobile game Guerrilla Bob. The graphics were comparable,and the controls seemed to be the same however, I was dead wrong. The biggest mistake was the controls, to hitan evil snowman I had to aim perfectly and ensure I didn’t get hit by anyone else. This is nearly impossible as one progresses through the game, hordes of elves are constantly running up to you and making it impossible to get a decent shot.
The game has interesting 3D graphics liken to many mobile games of this genre, I must say candy cane weapons are a nice touch, but the one thing I did truly enjoy about The Elf Who Killed Christmas was the plot. The idea of Santa being a tyrannical dictator who enslaves elves is ingenious and not an avenue typically taken. When one thinks of Santa, they picture a happy man who loves to nosh on cookies, but this point of view slowly starts to make sense. Every holiday movie shows elves in sweatshop conditions, but no one really explores that. The Evil Who Killed Christmas speaks out for those poor elves and gives them a voice of their own.
Overall, The Elf Who Killed Christmas wasn’t for me, but it did give me a new perspective on old St.Nick. I encourage anyone who has ever thought Santa may not be who everyone thinks he is, to give the game a shot. All I know for sure is, candy cane guns weren’t enough to kill Christmas.
