Us gamers have our own language, full of acronyms (“GG”), insults (“N00b”), and poetry (“wankfest”). Which is why holiday cards that say things like “Wishing You and Yours a Merry Christmas” don’t make us excited for the season – but do make us gag. Luckily, these “bricked” Christmas cards aren’t the only ones available. Mario, Pikachu, Samus, and even Solid Snake may not send out cheesy photos of themselves wearing ugly sweaters, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to extend their best holiday wishes to friends and family.

We here at The Checkout proudly present these Video Game Christmas Cards to Reset Your Holiday Spirit. 

Pick up your set of Video Games Christmas Cards directly from designer Gamer Print.

Video Game Christmas Cards to Reset Your Holiday Spirit

With this week’s launches of “next-gen” consoles Xbox One and PlayStation 4, video games are poised to take another giant leap as an entertainment medium. Just what that will look like, nobody knows, but based on the last generation of gaming, it could be incredible.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.” With that criteria in mind, you might find art and video games an odd pairing. Maybe you’ve associated art with high school field trips to the museum. And video games with Pac-Man. They don’t seem to go together.

The jolly ol’ chaps across the pond at Dead End Thrills aren’t really interested in the “games as art” debate. But after visiting their site, it’s clear “video games” and “art” have found a home together. Their curated collection of gorgeous in-game screenshots will take your breath away.

Check out some of our favorite video game screenshots below. According to DET, “there is no Photoshopping beyond subtle tweaks to gamma common to online publishing.” (You can also visit their Flickr community, where new images are posted daily by various contributors.)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009): Veteran (alt version)

Flight Simulator X (2006): Civil War

EVE Online (2003-present): The Cradle

Shogun II: Total War (2011): Near the Knuckle

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011): Here Be Dragons

Alan Wake (2010): Timber

Mass Effect 3 (2012): Superstructure

Rage (2011): Land of the Dead

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2010): Up All Night

Dead Space 3 (2013): Fatal Intertia

Visit Dead End Thrills

Video Games Never Looked So Good