It’s that time of year where the cold officially sets in and each day brings the chance of snow. It’s Kris’s favorite season and Rachel’s least favorite season. Then again, winter is the perfect time to cozy up with a heavy blanket, some hot chocolate, and curl up with your favorite game on the couch. Here are some of our favorite winter levels in video games (in no particular order).

Secret Mine Mansion in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD

Luigi’s Mansion 2 doesn’t seem to be anyone’s favorite Luigi’s Mansion title. However, after exploring a single mansion in the first game, going to different areas and biomes in the second game was pretty cool. This particular area mimics a cabin in the snowy north with beautiful ice graphics (and physics). The snow is fresh and sparkly and looks good on the Nintendo 3DS, but on the Nintendo Switch 2 in HD? It looks even more real.

Shiver City & Crystal Palace from Paper Mario 64

You look at the graphics from the Nintendo 64 and they may not look great now, but they were revolutionary for its time. Regardless of whether you play Paper Mario 64 on an actual Nintendo 64 console or through the Nintendo Switch online, you can’t argue the ice and snow imagery in all of chapter seven isn’t pretty. The ice is shimmery, the snow falling from your walk to Shiver City to the Crystal Palace is serene (despite enemies attacking you), and breaking the ice at the pond in Shiver City? Gold.

Snowpoint City in Pokemon Diamond & Pokemon Pearl

Who doesn’t want to go crunch-crunch-crunch in the snow? When I first played Pokemon Pearl for the Nintendo DS in 2007, I thought it was absolutely amazing to see my pixelated character drop into deep snow throughout a couple of routes and even in Snowpoint City. Watching my character create a trench of snow as I walked was pretty cool graphics-wise. Plus, it was an extra way to immerse me into the world. You can really feel how deep the snow is in Snowpoint City and makes you want to build a snowman or a snow fort.

Winter in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing has always been magical because of the real-time seasonal effect. Even when the holidays are green in real life, it never fails to snow in Animal Crossing. New Horizons, the latest Animal Crossing title, doesn’t disappoint in making wintertime magical. Between the snowfall at night, it crunching under your character’s feet when they run around, and decorating for winter and the holidays, there’s so much to do and love about this time of year in Animal Crossing.

Snowpeak Ruins in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess is arguably my favorite Legend of Zelda game. It’s been some time since I’ve played it, unfortunately, but I will argue with anyone that it has some of the best dungeons in the franchise. One dungeon is the Snowpeak Ruins, a slightly-dilapitated but homey site that is home to two Yeti. Nestled at the top of a mountain, you’re not only uncovering all of the secrets of the multi-room mansion, you’re also helping Yeto find a cure for his wife Yeta. While still an ice dungeon in true Legend of Zelda fashion, Snowpeak Ruins is also rather wholesome and gives a cozy vibe as you explore around the loving Yeti couple while helping to craft batches of homemade soup.

Starview Peak in Mario Kart World

When we saw this race track for the first time in Mario Kart World, I was enamored with how pretty it was. Sure, there are other tracks that showcase snow, but Starview Peak is the only new course in the Star Cup and fittingly has icy and star motifs throughout. While the Super Mario Galaxy games were not our favorites, I did always appreciate the themes of them, graphics- and music-wise, all of which is showcased in Starview Peak. Racing along up a mountain with the backdrop of space above you before zooming through a rush of cold water to reach the finish line, you can feel the chill of this track as you beat out your opponents.

The Crown Tundra in Pokemon Sword and Shield

Pokemon is one of our absolutely favorite franchises and, no matter how a particular generation performs, we’ll always enjoy it. Sword and Shield were no exceptions, and Rachel and I were delighted at being able to run around the Wild Areas together. Going a step further, the DLC for the 8th generation of Pokemon allowed us to explore the majority of the areas together even more. The Crown Tundra was the second DLC for Sword and Shield, taking place in a cold region with a heavy emphasis on exploration. The story that uncovered additional Legendary Pokemon, as well as introducing Max Lairs that could be explored with friends, was fun and the snowy backdrop was perfect.

Ice Age Alley in Donkey Kong Country

My most nostalgic pick, Ice Age Alley is one of the stages in the Gorilla Glacier world of Donkey Kong Country. This world is full of challenging stages with slippery platforms and needing perfect jumps to get from one area to the next, and Ice Age Alley is no different. I always liked the graphics of this stage – and Snow Barrel Blast – and how it showcased you starting in a blizzard that gradually lets up the closer you get to the edge. Ice Age Alley is one of the more difficult levels with its section of barrel blasts. It’s a great challenge, with fun visual effects, but if you get frustrated enough, there’s the famous shortcut that lets you bypass the majority of the barrel blast section. Riding on the barrel is always fun, too!