It's the holiday time again, which means it's time for either Jingle Grumps or Ghoul Grumps: Nightmare Before Xmas, depending on if you want those feel-good moments or to get jumped scared by a reindeer. Game Grumps always delivers on the holiday spirit, and I wanted to share my personal favorite moments and episodes from this series.
The Best of Jingle Grumps
1. Santa's goin' NUTS!
I was reminded by the latest Christmas mod of Supermarket Simulator of one of the greatest marketing bits the Grumps have ever done. Who knew that the random playthrough of Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon would produce a quotable piece of dialogue so iconic. The Grumps have always had stellar merch commercials, but this one takes all the birdseed.
Starring the original group of Grumps (which is always wonderful to see Ross and Barry), a Santa is wrecking the office. Danny, who is Jewish, is confused as the group begins to make bird puns. In the midst of uncovering Santa is actually a dove in disguise, Arin drops the iconic line, "Suzy, we gotta a jingle jangle problem on our hands, cause Santa's goin' NUTS!" It's one of the greatest moments from Game Grumps history.
2. Krampus
In the long list of games I wish the Grumps would return to, Krampus is high up there. It's given us so many great moments over the years, often the top of the Game Grumps animated holiday collaborations. Especially as Danny and Arin have continued the Nightmare Before Xmas series, it's just the perfect balance of Christmas silly and horror. Don't get me wrong. I will always, always watch I'm on Observation Duty, and I cheered seeing it up as the first entry of this year's Nightmare run. But there is always a part of me that hopes for one holiday season, it will be the year that the duo will finally return and face down the Krampus once and for all.
3. Point-and-click games
For the same reason that I wrote about Supermarket Simulator being the perfect Game Grumps game, all of the holiday point-and-click visual novels are in the same category. On the surface, they might not seem like the most engaging entries, but they allow Arin and Danny a place to just relax and be themselves. There are stakes, but they're low. There are puzzles where the audience can scream at their screens until the boys figure it out. But overall, these games are chill adventures where the audience can sit back and have a good time with the Grumps. I'm glad these kinds of games have become a Jingle Grumps staple over the last few years. They are my new favorites, and I'm always looking forward to each holiday.