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Alright, how was this year in your family? Was it all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Overflowing with A-grades for your offspring and wild themed fancy dress celebrations for the parents? Maybe it felt like a sea of frustration with only sporadic enjoyable flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or are we all digitally altered AI slop beings with celebrity teeth?

I've assembled everyone together, ready or not, to debate the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. I respect that.

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Game the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% 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 unscrew pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can grow up and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its regularly updated 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 wake up one day and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the time or headspace to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received 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 massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that as written, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I understand that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. 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 Controversy of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, 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 sound good names called from the doorstep at dinner time.

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 doomscrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.