The 10 Best Multiplayer Snow Levels of All Time

Nothing warms the bones quite like a hot apple cider, a warm blanket, and kicking your friends' butts.

Written by Tink Edwards

Ho ho ho, it’s the holiday season, and it’s getting COLD (sort of – I’m in Georgia). It’s the time of year to put on your Slanket, brew some hot apple cider, and pop into a snow-themed level with some of your best buds. Or, in my case, some pubbies who are way better than me at every game.

In the spirit of the season, here’s my list of the 10 BEST snow-themed multiplayer levels in video games.

10. Let’s Melt Snow and Rebuild NYC – TMNT 2: The Arcade Game (NES)

It’s loosely multiplayer, but this level is superbly snowy and gives off the right vibe for my list. There are robot snowmen that pelt you with rockets and rampaging snow plows, and the final boss is the alien bounty hunter Tora. I thought for sure Tora was a mutant polar bear or something, but no. He’s an alien.

The level takes place in Central Park, and there’s a nice backdrop of the city across from what I assume is the Central Park Reservoir. Oh, and the best part about the stage is the frozen Pizza Hut signs every 10 feet. I wonder how much Pizza Hut paid for that promotional tie-in.

9. Dragon Cave (Night) – 1080 Snowboarding

1080 Snowboarding has a few fun slopes that could work on this list, but Dragon Cave sets itself apart with its neon signs and little Christmas snow village at the end of the course. If there’s an actual cave involved in the level, I don’t remember it, so I don’t understand the name. Wait, there aren’t any dragons, either. What’s your deal, Dragon Cave?

Anyway, the multiplayer aspect is great because you can ride a penguin and bully your friend (who is wearing a panda mascot head) so much they have to retire from the race.

8. Lambeau Field – Madden

This counts, right? The oldest and most iconic multiplayer level on this list exists IN REAL LIFE! Teams dread playing at Lambeau in the dead of winter, with wind chill hitting 36 degrees below zero (this is American football we’re talking about, so we’re measuring the cold in freedom units). My teeth are chattering just thinking about it.

7. Summit – Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Summit is an underrated Smash level with so many cool (literally!) Ice Climber-y things happening in the background. Most notable is the fun-loving polar bear with sunglasses chilling on the iceberg.

The level hazards are fun, too. You can get left behind as the iceberg slides down the mountain or drown in the icy cold ocean water. Hey, remember the super cool polar bear? It can stomp the iceberg, submerging it a bit. If you’re caught in the water, a giant fish leaps out of the water and makes sure you don’t return to dry land.

6. Alterac Valley – World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft added battlegrounds nearly a year after its launch. The game lacked real PvP outside of the insanity that was Hillsbrad Foothills. When they finally added battlegrounds, I quickly became addicted to Alterac Valley. Alliance heavily populated my server and I was Horde, so we never won. Instead of actually trying to win, I’d run off to fish or explore the zone, fighting PvE enemies.

The level itself is a massive snowy mountain path. It originally contained lots of fun bad guys, like trolls and wolves. But, as I understand it (I haven’t played since the Burning Crusade days), most of the NPCs were removed, and the battleground has shifted more in the direction of pure PvP.

5. Snowbound – Halo 3

Snowbound encapsulates all the best things about Halo levels – getting sniped halfway across the map, flying ghosts into unsuspecting players, meleeing a person to death in the bunker, and on top of that, it’s bright and snowy, which makes it perfect for this list.

4. Salvage – Modern Warfare 2

Salvage has a great aesthetic. Snow and ice cover the depleted salvage yard, and the makeshift buildings are decorated with wall-mounted hubcaps, posters of guns for some reason, and all kinds of fun knick-knacks that make the world look lived-in.

As far as the multiplayer goes, there are tons of places to hide and get the drop on opposing players. In the distance are impressively large mountain ranges that give this level a nice sense of scale and solitude. It’s a great map.

3. Winter Crash – Call of Duty 4

This level is a blast. I’m specifically referring to the holiday version strung up with Christmas lights, candy canes, and a nice layer of winter snow. Outside of the appropriate look of the level, you can call in Santa and his reindeer to drop some bombs on the competition.

A lot of love went into the level design, and every inch of the map is stuffed with fun holiday nuggets and Christmas (Easter) eggs. Call a ceasefire with your friends and take a moment to look around the map. Props to Raven Software for making such an excellent snow level!

2. Animal Crossing (Winter) – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

I love this variation of the Animal Crossing track. It’s winter in town. Fresh, downy snow covers the fruit trees. Snowmen obstruct the road, holiday lights cover the houses, and the Aurora Borealis fills the night sky with beautiful blues and greens.

There’s always something to look at when you’re not dodging turtle shells. The town residents cheer you on as you speed by, including Tom Nook, who wants to see you succeed so he can take some of those sweet, sweet bells away from you in the form of a mortgage payment.

1. cs_office – Counter-Strike

cs_office was one of our most-played maps back in the CS 1.6 days. The level layout is more linear than other options on this list, but the scaled-down scope of the map gives it a more intimate feel. If you’re playing as a counter-terrorist, your objective is simply to liberate office worker hostages.

Since the exterior of the office is covered in snow, cs_office always felt like a mini-Die Hard to me. And as we all know, Die Hard is a Christmas/holiday classic. I have many fond memories of playing this level with friends. So nostalgia + Die Hard = cs_office taking the number one spot on the list!