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Alright, how did you experience this year in your household? Did it seem truly wonderful as you pretended on social media? Full of academic success for the children and wild dress-up gatherings for the adults? Or was it a ocean of frustration with only sporadic entertaining moments? And was any of it authentic, or have we all become AI-generated AI slop beings with celebrity smiles?

I have gathered the family for a reflection, ready or not, to discuss the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In real life."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. Fair enough.

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 elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update 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 got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I could play any time. Throw in the charm 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.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I understand that it is beautiful and is flawless 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 all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between business deals that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called 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 is sore like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 stretch time until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.