🔗 Share this article

Well, how was the past year in your family? Did it seem entirely positive as you pretended on online? Packed with A-grades for your offspring and wild costume gatherings for the parents? Or perhaps it was a ocean of frustration with only sporadic entertaining highlights? Is any of this genuine, or is everyone now seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity teeth?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, ready or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in any given year: which video games we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

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

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in real life.

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 eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

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

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. 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'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive 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 late night 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 remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift 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 specific bug in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I appreciated even more after experiencing 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 share that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I get that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names called from the garden at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur 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 wait patiently until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.