This Is Your Annual Reminder That Merry Gear Solid Exists, And You Should Play It

Merry Gear Solid: Secret Santa and its sequel are short, sweet and free Christmas-themed parodies of the most popular stealth game series in the world.

Merry gear solid 2 title
Merry Gear Solid 2 is especially faithful to the series' traditions. | © Insignificant Studios

When you were still a small child who believed in Santa, did you ever wonder how exactly he managed to deliver all those presents without getting spotted? You probably weren't thinking of Tactical Espionage Action back then. But apparently, game designer Arthur 'Mr. Podunkian' Lee had that idea at some point and just had to make it a reality, because Merry Gear Solid exists and is one of the best Christmas games out there. Not that there's much competition for that title, but still!

Merry Gear Solid, a freeware game that probably started out as a bad pun and grew out of control from there, is an affectionate parody of the Metal Gear Solid series, presented as a top-down stealth action game in the same vein as MGS1. And it has a suitably Metal Gear-esque plot to boot! To quote the description on the game's official download page:

After the aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. Government has been suspicious of unidentified flying objects, forcing Saint Nick (Codename: Solid Santa) to deliver presents by foot.Using distractions and tools you find around the house, you take control of Solid Santa, slipping by naughty naughty children to deliver your gifts at a Christmas tree located at the 10th floor.

This fairly short parody game features fully voice-acted codec conversations with Christmas characters, festive stealth equipment, devious level design and a healthy serving of Christmas magic! Even if you haven't played a single Metal Gear game before this game's commitment to the bit will probably get a laugh or several out of you! A small warning though: This game is more than 17 years old at this point, so expect it to have some 2000s-era jank.

Merry Gear Solid: The Best Christmas Duology?

Merry gear solid 2 gameplay
Whether Cold Snake can avoid the Pretty Naughty Children and save Christmas is up to you. | © Insignificant Studios

But it doesn't end there! In case Merry Gear Solid somehow wasn't Metal Gear enough or not enough Metal Gear for you yet, the bigger and better sequel, Merry Gear Solid 2: Ghost of Christmas Past, has you covered:

Set years after the events of the first game, Merry Gear Solid 2 sets Old Snake on an adventure to retrieve Santa’s Hat from an extremist group known as the Ghosts of Christmas Past. Using an array of new tools, and returning favorites, Solid Snake must infiltrate Outer Savin’ mall and prevent the Ghosts from taking control of the SOC (Spirit of Christmas) System.

A third game, Merry Gear Solid 3: The Dead of Winter, was also teased back in 2010, but nothing ever came of it. Still, two fan games' worth of Tactical Christmas Action should be more than enough to get you into the festive mood! ...Or in the mood for Metal Gear.

Leonhard Kuehnel

When Leo isn’t busy playing the best videogame you’ve never heard of, he uses his knowledge to report on the latest news in the gaming industry. Never ask him how long his backlog is, though, you won’t like the answer....