The Pocket Gamer Podcast Christmas Special 2025 - Balatro, Maneater, and Neko Atsume
On surviving vampires and terrorising seas
How do you spend your holidays gaming-wise, and is Santa Claus at all safe? Grab some eggnog or cosy up with a cup of tea as we welcome you all to a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast!
After confirming exactly why this is the most wonderful time of the year (and expressing our genuine concern over Santa Claus' safety), we get right to it as Iwan recommends The Darkside Detective if you're in the mood for some spooky-slash-goofy tones while you chill by the fireplace this month. The point-and-click adventure has plenty of cosy moments despite its titular darkside-ness - or if you're looking for something more mainstream, Balatro is always a good pick.
Vampire Survivors is one of Iwan's go-to options too, but for something more laidback and a little less frantic, Neko Atsume is my own top pick for the season. The idle nature of this kitty collector will have you laying out toys and treats for stray cats in a desperate attempt to win their love - and if they do deem you worthy of their time and attention, they'll leave you fish that you can then use to buy them even more treats.
It's a loop you'll want to get trapped in especially if you fancy logging in, setting up treats, then logging out and going about your day before checking in every once in a while whenever you feel like it. Plus, cat masters. 'Nuff said.
As for Will, he does a complete one-eighty with Maneater, where you basically roam the seas as an apex predator and eat people just because. And if you're wondering how exactly that relates to Christmas, then you'll have to tune in to find out (just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water).
Will also leaves us with a heartwarming message this Christmas, so even if we're still not entirely sure about Santa's whereabouts at the moment, we at least end this holiday special with some warm and fuzzy feelings before we sign off.
You can listen to the podcast below, through the Spotify embed, or head over to our Spotify Page. If you fancy giving us a follow, you'll actually get the new podcasts pushed to you as they're uploaded (which means you can give them a listen before we've even got the story live on the website).
Plus, we've been teasing more ways of getting it to you for the past months, and now the time has finally come. You can catch us on Amazon Music or on Apple Podcasts too - because life is hard enough already, and we wouldn't want you to struggle with finding us!
