The long-running “What’s on your bookshelf” feature has wrapped up its final 2025 entry with an unexpected guest: “Santa Maw,” a tongue-in-cheek, horror-tinged riff on Father Christmas.

Instead of the usual developer or industry creative, the piece leans into a comedic bit—framing the lack of a regular interview subject as an excuse to summon Santa himself via “occult connections.” From there, it doubles down on the imagery: a relentlessly list-checking Claus, bright red attire, and a bag that’s described as oddly “squelchy,” immediately pushing the segment from cozy into creepily surreal.

### A Holiday Joke With Teeth
The real punchline is the contrast between the familiar iconography of Christmas and the story’s body-horror flavor. Santa isn’t just jolly—he’s presented as something lurking within the “fissured green immensities” of a Christmas tree, extending an “unidentifiable appendage” as if the holiday mascot has been reimagined as a lurking creature.

As a finale, it reads less like a straightforward bookshelf tour and more like a playful editorial sketch, using a seasonal character to send off the series with a memorable tone shift. It’s the kind of gag that fits internet games writing in 2025: self-aware, slightly grotesque, and intentionally overcommitted.

### Why This Matters
Light features like this are more than filler—they’re how gaming outlets build voice and identity outside hard news. Ending the year on a weird, festive note is also a reminder that personality-driven writing still draws readers in an era dominated by patch notes, acquisition headlines, and algorithm-chasing updates.

Source: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/whats-on-your-bookshelf-santa-maw