5 MORE great ID@Xbox titles — perfect for your holiday Xbox Gift Card

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Okay, the holidays are over, which is a bit of a bummer, but if you were lucky enough to get an Xbox gift card for Christmas, I’ve got some ideas on how to spend it! Let’s talk about what you can get with that gift card.

Each month, we highlight some great indie games on Xbox that you might have overlooked. If you’re not looking to spend a lot on big-budget titles or a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, these games are a fantastic, more affordable alternative. They’re also usually quicker to play and, often, much more unique and creative than games from major publishers.

A Game About Digging A Hole™

Recently, a lot of simple but surprisingly fun and cheap games have become incredibly popular – they offer hours of entertainment for a low price. Titles like Peak, Vampire Survivors, and Clover Pit are good examples. In the spring and summer of 2025, another game, A Game About Digging A Hole™, quickly became a viral hit in the same way.

The idea is straightforward: you’re a new homeowner digging in your backyard. But things quickly get complicated! You’ll find valuable resources in the soil that you can sell to buy better tools, and eventually, you’ll stumble upon a hidden mystery.

A Game About Digging A Hole™ launched on consoles December 9th, created by a single developer as a passion project. It’s available to play immediately for Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass members. If you’d prefer to buy it outright, it’s a very affordable $5 – making it a great little gift for friends on Xbox or a fun way to spend any leftover gift card money.

With A Game About Digging a Hole™, a $5 purchase gives you access to play on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, the cloud, and even compatible handheld devices thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere program. Buy it once and play it everywhere!

Fort Solis

The holiday season doesn’t have to be all about cheerful traditions. Embracing a darker side, like ‘Creepmas,’ can be really enjoyable, and few things are scarier than a well-made horror walking simulator. Fort Solis, developed by Fallen Leaf and published by Feardemic, was originally a PlayStation exclusive but is now available on Xbox.

I’m really excited about Fort Solis – it’s a sci-fi horror game where I play as Jack Leary, a seasoned engineer. I get a weird distress call from this isolated mining base, and things immediately go south. A massive storm is rolling in, and I’m basically in a race against time – and the elements – to figure out what happened to the crew of Fort Solis. Honestly, just surviving the night feels like a huge challenge!

Fort Solis features a fantastic voice cast, including Roger Clark (known for *Red Dead Redemption 2* and *Smite*) and Troy Baker (*Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Marvel Rivals*), alongside stunning graphics and a captivating story. You can play it now on Xbox Series X|S.

Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Thank Goodness You’re Here, created by Coal Supper and published by Panic, is a hilarious and chaotic game – and the title really fits! You play as a salesman wandering around the strange little town of Barnsworth in Northern England. The people there are… unique, to say the least, and they’ll keep you busy with a never-ending stream of bizarre tasks you need to complete before a crucial meeting.

Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a funny and quirky adventure set in a beautifully hand-drawn world. The fully voiced characters really bring the town of Barnsworth to life. While the game looks charming and reminiscent of classic cartoons, its humor is geared towards adults.

Looking for a funny game to play during the holidays? Thank Goodness You’re Here! is now available on Xbox. Plus, with Xbox Play Anywhere, you can enjoy it on your Xbox Series X|S console, Xbox PC, or even a compatible handheld device!

Routine

This month, we’re featuring a lot of science fiction horror, and the game Routine perfectly embodies that genre. Developed by Lunar Software and published by Raw Fury, this first-person horror game is set in a retro-futuristic, abandoned lunar base. It starts as a simple exploration mission, but quickly turns into a desperate fight for survival, as you become the thing they’re trying to eliminate.

Fort Solis delivers a relaxed, story-focused sci-fi horror experience, but Routine is a much more intense survival horror game. You’ll need to carefully navigate the base on your own – figuring out where to go is just as important for staying alive as anything else.

Routine demands careful exploration if you want to survive and escape. The game avoids cluttering the screen with menus, instead relying on realistic sounds and a sense of your character’s entire body to create a truly terrifying atmosphere. You’ll need to survive by either hiding or fighting back.

Routine is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, and through cloud gaming, as well as on handheld devices that work with Xbox. It’s included with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass subscriptions.

Wylde Flowers

If you’re looking for something different, Wylde Flowers from Studio Drydock offers a relaxing escape, especially during the winter months. We’re always happy to feature a game about living as a witch, and Wylde Flowers delivers! You play as Tara, a young woman who moves to a charming island to help her grandmother with the family farm.

Fairhaven Island is a beautiful place to explore, with everything from sunny beaches to mysterious forests. The town is full of lively, fully-voiced characters that Tara can befriend – and even fall in love with! Since it first came out on Apple Arcade in 2022, Wylde Flowers has been updated with lots of new features, like the ability to change Tara’s appearance, add adorable magical animals to your farm, and enjoy exciting new festivals.

You can play Wylde Flowers on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, and handheld devices using Xbox Play Anywhere. The developers at Studio Drydock are also working on a new game connected to Wylde Flowers, called Wylde Society.

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2026-01-06 21:40