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Yule Dads turns a Christmas mall into a PS2-era skate park, with dads on shopping trolleys

by Rob from the Shack

Yule Dads game artwork showing dads riding shopping trolleys with a Santa-hatted skeleton and snowball-throwing character, on a snowy red background

Norwich indie studio SHUCK has announced its debut game, Yule Dads, and the pitch is exactly as daft as it sounds in the best possible way. It is a chaotic multiplayer party game where dads ride shopping trolleys around a Christmas mall, racing for the last presents before closing time while grinding rails and pulling tricks along the way. It launches on Steam for PC on 27 November 2026 at £5.69, with a 20% launch discount on top.

A love letter to PS2 skate games

If you spent any of the early 2000s chasing high scores in skateboarding games, Yule Dads is aiming straight at you. SHUCK describes it as a love letter to the skate games of the PS2 era, and the trick list backs that up. You can grind handrails, escalators and balconies, drift round corners for a speed boost, and land moves with names like the Corkscrooge, the Yule Log and the Rudolph Nosegrind. Anyone who has been in a shopping centre on Christmas Eve will know the trolley is the right vehicle for this.

Plenty of ways to cause chaos

The main Party mode mixes gift hunts with 13 minigames, including Snowball Fight, Hot Coal, Grind Gauntlet and Capture the Candycane. Beyond that there is Man Flu, where one player starts off infected and everyone they touch joins them, which is about as accurate a festive simulation as I have ever seen. Free Ride, Time Attack and Style Attack round things out for those who want to focus on the skating side.

You can also switch on optional rules such as low gravity and big heads, which is another nod to the era it is borrowing from. Up to eight friends can play together online, and up to four can play locally on the same sofa, which makes it a strong shout for the Christmas holidays. The soundtrack is made up of indie punk bands from Norwich, which is a lovely touch for a debut from a local studio.

Release date and price

Yule Dads launches on Steam on 27 November 2026, priced at £5.69, $6.99 or 6,79€, with a 20% discount at launch. That is an easy price to talk a few friends into for a festive game night. You can wishlist Yule Dads on Steam now, and the announcement trailer is up on YouTube.

Key facts

  • Game: Yule Dads
  • Developer / publisher: SHUCK
  • Platform: Steam (PC)
  • Release date: 27 November 2026
  • Price: £5.69 / $6.99 / 6,79€, plus a 20% launch discount
  • Players: up to 8 online, up to 4 local

Source: SHUCK press release.

Published by Rob from the Shack
Updated