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So, how was the past year in your family? Could it be described as truly wonderful as you pretended on online? Overflowing with academic success for the kids and wild themed fancy dress celebrations for the adults? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only sporadic enjoyable moments? And was any of it authentic, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with celebrity smiles?

I've corralled the family together, willing or unwilling, to debate the paramount thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. Point taken.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has in real life.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted card game competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. 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 called from the back door at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or doomscrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the past.

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.