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Well, what did you think of this year in your family? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with academic success for the kids and elaborate costume birthday parties for the adults? Or perhaps it was a ocean of frustration with only rare entertaining flotsam? Could any part be actually real, or is everyone now AI-generated synthetic personas with celebrity teeth?

I have gathered the family for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the paramount thing in twelve months: which releases we played the most. So here goes:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. I respect that.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and finished the year at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can mature and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025

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

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted card game 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 constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original 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 aim to experience this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite peak 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 Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that as written, because I respect the passion, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I get that it is beautiful and is ideal 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 I'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the back door at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it is sore like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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.