Best Games to Play on St. Patrick’s Day

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and his feast day has evolved into a holiday celebrating all things Irish – and that includes Irish games! Although Ireland itself is a relatively small country, the Irish diaspora stretches to every corner of the globe, and people on every continent celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th.

Whether you claim Irish heritage yourself or just want an excuse to have a good time, we’ve compiled a list of St. Patrick’s Day themed games for you to enjoy. Some of the games on this list have an Irish protagonist, some have Irish themes, and some are set on the Emerald Isle itself. There is a variety of genres and platforms represented here, so there should be something for everyone!

aMAZE St. Patrick

This little puzzler is one of a series of themed maze games from indie developer Blender. The premise is pretty simple: just guide the coin through the maze, pick up the shamrocks and pots of gold, and then head to the rainbow portal to get to the next level. The graphics and music are simple as well, with a cheerful Irish theme.

The game is $1.99 on Steam and takes a little under an hour to complete. It’s an easy way to get some Steam achievements since there are 100 of them! aMAZE St. Patrick could also make a fun holiday activity for kids.

Assassin’s Creed Rogue

The seventh installment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise follows Shay Patrick Cormac, an Irish American privateer who starts out as a member of the Brotherhood but defects to the Templars. Set in the North Atlantic and New York in the 1750s, the game followed Black Flag and features a lot of the same elements, including a heavy focus on ship-based exploration.

Most of what you expect in an Assassin’s Creed game is here, with the big twist being that you’re playing as one of the Templars, who are usually the villains. Cormac is flawed, but not evil, and brings some welcome complexity to the series’ central conflict. We’re mostly here for the Irish accent, though, and perhaps some of the sea shanties, which have their roots in Irish folk songs.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids DLC

While we’re talking about Assassin’s Creed, the latest entry in the franchise, Valhalla, has a DLC that is set in Ireland. Wrath of the Druids released in December 2022, and has you travel to 9th century Ireland to aid its high king in uncovering a plot by a druidic cult. You get to explore parts of the island nation and experience its history and culture first-hand.

Of course, the core game is not about Ireland at all, and you will have to play through a lot of other stuff to get to the DLC. But if you’ve already played Valhalla, St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect excuse to try out this extra content. It’s easily the most immersive depiction of Ireland on this list – gorgeous and detailed, with a strong sense of place and time and a moody, mysterious atmosphere. The DLC was even used in a tourism advertising campaign for Ireland!

Clan O’Conall and the Crown of the Stag

In Clan O’Conall and the Crown of the Stag, you play as a trio of Irish characters as they fend off creatures from Celtic mythology. The game lets you swap on the fly between the three siblings, Haggish, Kilcannon, and Clakshot O’Conall, who each have their own unique abilities. It’s a fast-paced experience with a good mixture of platforming, puzzle solving, and combat.

The game’s strongest point is its colorful art, with beautifully rendered levels that lend themselves very well to the Celtic theme. Hardcore platforming enthusiasts may find the game a bit easy and short, but overall it’s a charming way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Clive Barker’s Undying

As the title suggests, Clive Barker’s Undying was written by acclaimed horror writer Clive Barker, best known for the Hellraiser and Candyman films. It’s a first-person shooter that follows Patrick Galloway, an Irish World War I veteran, as he investigates mysterious occult happenings around an estate in 1920s Ireland.

The story is pure fiction, and the mythology feels more Lovecraftian than Celtic, but the characters and setting have a definite Irish flavor. You use spells as well as guns to defeat enemies, and there is a good mix of creepy exploration and satisfying combat. All in all, a solid choice for St. Patrick’s Day if you’re a horror fan.

Dicey Dungeons

If you’d like to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by playing a game made by an Irish developer, look no further than Dicey Dungeons. Its creator, Terry Cavanaugh, is known for such indie titles as vvvvvv and Super Hexagon. For this deckbuilding roguelike, he collaborated with award-winning composer Chipzel and artist Marlowe Dobbe for a highly polished experience that looks and sounds as great as it plays.

You control one of six adorable dice characters, each with different abilities to help you roll off against enemies. Over the course of the game you acquire and upgrade equipment to affect your dice pool, adding complexity to an otherwise simple premise. But for our purposes, the biggest feature is the fact that the game can be played in Gaelic, the historic language of the Irish, into which very few games are translated.

Folklore

This little gem is only available for Playstation 3, but if you can get your hands on it, it’s an excellent choice for St. Patrick’s Day. Folklore is an action roleplaying game set in the Irish village of Doolin, which is a real place, and the Netherworld, a fairy realm inspired by Celtic mythology. You play your choice of its dual protagonists, Ellen and Keats, as they investigate strange goings-on in the village and find themselves drawn into a world of fantastical creatures known as Folks.

Folklore has a lot in common with the Final Fantasy games of its era as well as the Fable games. Third-person exploration and combat are interspersed with dialogue and cutscenes. There is a definite JRPG aesthetic, but the locations and fantasy elements all come from Ireland, lending a unique look and feel.

Job the Leprechaun

For all the old-school Mario fans out there, this retro-style platformer is a good option for St. Patrick’s Day. For $2.99 on Steam, you get 38 levels of shamrock-infused pixel art and cheerful chiptunes.

You play the titular Job, a leprechaun with a magic hat which he uses to get past the various critters and goblins that populate each level. This is a pretty simple game that should only take 40 minutes or so to complete – a nice little diversion for the holiday.

Lep’s World

But wait, there’s more! Here’s a whole series of cute leprechaun-themed platformers, this time on your phone or tablet. There are currently three Lep’s World games. They have a sleeker style than Job the Leprechaun and a greater diversity of levels. Each game should take a few hours to clear. They are free on iOS and Android devices, but include ads and in-app purchases.

Nioh

It might surprise you to see a game about samurai in this list, but the main character, William Adams, is Irish. If souls-like games are your forte, Nioh can give you that little bit of Irish flavor for the holiday while also offering a solid action RPG experience.

Set in Japan in the year 1600, the story follows William as he fights his way through yokai, demon-like creatures from Japanese folklore, in pursuit of an Englishman named Edward Kelley. William starts the game in the Tower of London, imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I to keep the secret of the Amrita stone she contracted him to find. So although the game’s primary setting is Japanese, we get a taste of the historical antagonism between the English and the Irish.

Sceal: An Irish Folklore Adventure

This sweet little storybook game revolves around Irish folklore, as the title suggests. You play the spirit of a little girl trying to reclaim her memories so she can move on. You do this by exploring her village with the aid of her storybook.

There’s not a lot of challenge here: Sceal is more about exploration and atmosphere, with beautiful watercolor art and a haunting soundtrack. If you enjoy relaxing point-and-click games, this is a great way to immerse yourself in Irish culture. As a bonus, it’s also one of the few games that can be played in Gaelic. There is also a free demo available on Steam!

The Saboteur

In The Saboteur, you play Sean Devlin, an Irish race car driver who joins the French Resistance during World War II. Loosely based on a true story, the game has you running around German-occupied Paris to conduct sabotage against the Nazis.

The game takes its driving and combat from Grand Theft Auto and its stealth elements from Assassin’s Creed. One neat feature that is unique to the game is its color palette. Until you liberate a district, almost everything in the area is rendered in black and white. This gives the game a period-appropriate noir feel.

Sadly, The Saboteur was the last game from Pandemic Studios, who were liquidated shortly after it was completed. But it’s still available on GOG if you’re looking for a GTA clone to play for St. Patrick’s Day.

A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia

Last but not least, we have something for real-time strategy fans. Thrones of Britannia is a Britain-themed entry in the Total War franchise, and features a campaign in what is now Ireland (referred to as the Gaelic Kingdoms in the game). The game is set in 878 AD, a time when Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, and British clans were all vying for territory in the British Isles. The Gaelic Kingdoms campaign features real locations in Ireland and a lot of historic and cultural details that make it a great option for something to play on St. Patrick’s Day.

And that’s our list! If there’s a game we missed that would be great to play on St. Patrick’s Day, leave us a comment below. Whatever you decide to play, we hope you have a fun holiday!