A Video Game Selection to Help Combat the Winter Onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder

Image via Complex Original

Platform: Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Play this as opposed to: Ironically descending into full-blown alcoholism.

Don't front, you're nowhere near 100% complete with ACIV. Even if you've been playing it non-stop since it dropped last October, there are still treasure chests to be found, iguanas to be skinned, and multiplayer to be mastered. The game is a testament to the sandbox genre and Ubisoft breathed new life into a franchise that was quickly becoming stagnant. The new Freedom Cry DLC is also a brilliant exploration of the history of slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean.

Platform: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux,
Play this as opposed to: Converting to Mormonism

FTL is a slow burn investment which pays off handsomely for those patient enough to savor the wait. A space sim that tests your aptitude in resource management, situational prioritization, and strategic asset deployment. What that means is that you've got a space ship to command and you better not let it fall into disrepair. If you were a fan of the XCOM titles and were looking for an even more micro management approach to strategy, Faster Than Light is always looking for new recruits.

Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, OS X, Linux
Play this as opposed to: Lurking on Craigslist's casual encounters and entertaining the notion of pulling the trigger on what is more than likely a dude in that photo.

Enough can't be said as to how stunningly fucking brilliant Hotline Miami is. You will die so often and so violently, that death itself takes on a secondary, ancillary form of entertainment. Just when you think you've mastered the learning curve of baseball bat induced contusions, the game grades you on your lack of creativity. The game will lure you in with the promise of a casual dabbling of ultra-violence and slams the door shut behind you with its hypnotically flawless soundtrack.

Platform: Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux,
Play this as opposed to: Attempting to get discovered by creating Vines of yourself freestyling.

A 2D, procedurally generated space exploration simulator that blends all of the best elements of titles like Minecraft and Terraria. Starbound is in open beta and so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive. A rabbit hole that is ripe for falling down. The game's universe allows players to choose from an alien species to explore planets that are all part of a massive celestial sandbox. Terraforming, crafting, battling, and exploration of the nearly endless variety of planetary environments should keep you from being swallowed by blizzard induced hyper-depression.

Platform: Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Play this as opposed to: Buying one of those home brewing kits and telling everyone how hoppy your new microbrew is.

OK, so maybe Ghosts wasn't as mindblowing as Activision promised. Maybe it bit Battlefield's steez, maybe it made the new perk system way more convoluted and clumsy than it needed to be, and maybe the single player campaign was irredeemably short. Ignoring all of these shortcomings, may we offer a piece of recompense: holiday noobs.

That's right. With all of those new consoles dogpiling the base of holiday gift mounds, chances are whole lot of them came with a copy of Call of Duty: Ghosts. Nothing makes you feel like an unhinged badass faster than stealth knifing the kids that are still learning how to aim u, or, memorizing exactly where their respawn points are. Sure, it's hollow and fleeting, but the easy XP you rack up will keep you warm well into the spring. Also, COD: Ghosts on either PS4 or the Xbox One is gorgeous.

Platform: Nintendo 3DS, 2DS
Play this as opposed to: Hitting open mic nights and embarrassing yourself in an attempt to start a career in stand-up.

Easily the most RPG heavy Pokemon title to be released, X & Y will appeal to trainers of every stripe. You're also given the added bonus of portability if you actually decide to venture out of your slowly suffocating Winter confines.

Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360,OS X
Play this as opposed to: Putting on 30 lbs playing McDonalds Dollar Menu Russian roulette

Borderlands was a sleeper hit that was released in the doldrums of December with the intention of quietly tanking. Instead, Gearbox inadvertently created one of the most successful entries into the hybrid first-person shooter, role-playing game (FPSRPG) genre. Borderlands 2 built on the established credibility of the franchise by introducing new playable classes, more guns, more toilet humor delivered by a robot, and one of the more three dimensional villains in Handsome Jack. More than a year later the title is still delivering solid DLC that is well worth the purchase. Depression due to vitamin D deficiency seems to vanish when you max out Zero's Bloodshed skill.

Platform: Literally everywhere except (surprise, surpise) Wii U and Mac
Play this as opposed to: Keeping the dream alive through penning Breaking Bad fan fiction.

If there's a more humbling experience than attempting to go from practice squad scrub to international Lionel Messi level golden god in FIFA 14's career mode we're open to hearing it. FIFA 14 is one of the most realistic attempts to simulate football. Industrial engineering level dribbling and precision passing, and terminally accurate shooting will be the only things that get you out of the farms leagues and into the international clubs. FIFA 14 will drain you completely and leave behind a dessicated husk.

Platform: Windows, PS3, Xbox 360
Play this as opposed to: Accidentally ending up on an NSA watch-list

Looking for a way to truly skip out on reality entirely and justify your cabin fever at the same time? Skyrim will devour your entire existence and you will happily return for sloppy seconds. Monstrously deep RPG features, snow giants, mastodons, vampires, werewolves, dragons, and, oh fuck it, we're starting a new character right now and playing unarmed.

Not bad for a game that's three years old.

Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, PS3, PS4, and Vita (Sony releases slated for early 2014)
Play This As Opposed To: Pulling a Jack Torrance and going full Shining on your roommates.

Dubbed a 'geneological, Rogue-Lite' by developers Cellar Door Games, Rogue Legacy has now consumed easily over 30 hours of our deep winter months. Genealogical, Rogue-lite translates to a Metroid-vania type platformer that is procedurally generated every time you begin a new game. The castle that your lineage of heirs will battle through changes with every play. Your heirs themselves are handed down traits from one generation to the next. These hereditary traits run from color blindness to near sightedness to irritable bowel syndrome. The game is cheeky in its gallows humor and the scaled difficulty of enemies will challenge even the most steely veterans of both platformers and rogue titles.