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Alright, how did you experience the past year in your household? Was it entirely positive as you pretended on Facebook? Packed with academic success for the kids and riotous dress-up celebrations for the adults? Or was it a ocean of disappointment with only occasional enjoyable highlights? And was any of it genuine, or is everyone now AI-generated AI slop beings with perfect smiles?

I have gathered the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the most important thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Point taken.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that endlessly add to their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after evening drinks.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I could play constantly. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that as written, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I understand that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names shouted from the doorstep at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or doomscrolling, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the 90s.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2026

Grand Theft Auto VI.
And it will come out in 2026, even if we have to wait patiently until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.