🔗 Share this article

So, how did you experience this year in your home? Did it seem entirely positive as one might claim on Facebook? Full of top marks for the children and riotous themed fancy dress gatherings for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a ocean of frustration with only sporadic entertaining highlights? Could any part be actually real, or is everyone now seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity teeth?

I have gathered the family for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in any given year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. I respect that.

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Release the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About 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 engaging in this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my demons so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I understand that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between business deals that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious 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 make interesting names shouted from the back door at tea time.

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 hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the day.

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 make 2026 last until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.