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Alright, what did you think of 2025 in your family? Could it be described as entirely positive as you pretended on Facebook? Packed with academic success for the kids and riotous costume birthday parties for the grownups? Or was it a ocean of frustration with only rare fun moments? Is any of this authentic, or are we all AI-generated virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?

I've assembled everyone together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in any given year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In reality."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. I respect that.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for adults. 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. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably 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 constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after family time.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play any time. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I get that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the back door at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or endless scrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.