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Well, how was this year in your home? Was it entirely positive as people post on Facebook? Overflowing with A-grades for the children and wild dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Or was it a swamp of frustration with only occasional enjoyable moments? Is any of this genuine, or is everyone now digitally altered virtual entities with unrealistic teeth?

I have gathered my thoughts for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

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. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 deck building digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic 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 (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. 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 small space 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 bit of backlash when I mentioned how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I recognized 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I share that verbatim, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge that it has great art and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when most 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 questionable alliances that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the garden at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or doomscrolling, but it is sore like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 wait patiently until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.