🔗 Share this article

So, how did you experience this year in your family? Was it entirely positive as one might claim on Facebook? Full of academic success for the kids and wild dress-up celebrations for the adults? Or perhaps it was a sea of frustration with only occasional entertaining flotsam? And was any of it actually real, or are we all seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect dental work?

I've corralled my thoughts for a chat, willing or unwilling, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

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

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Point taken.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Title the Spouse 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. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult 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 adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. More impressive 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 remarkably well-crafted card game competitive game, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game 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 fomo-fuelled 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 iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. 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 decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the time or headspace to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after family time.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after experiencing 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 mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title 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 "explore". How delightful. I understand that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Debate between business deals that caused concern, 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 doorstep at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or phone use, but it burns like anything 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 wait patiently until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.