🔗 Share this article

Alright, how did you experience the past year in your household? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with academic success for the children and elaborate themed fancy dress celebrations for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of frustration with only sporadic fun highlights? Could any part be authentic, or are we all AI-generated virtual entities with unrealistic teeth?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. Fair enough.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Game the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game 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 persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive 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

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building competitive game, 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 wake up one day 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 was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the powers 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 high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do 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 glitch in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I valued even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual 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 acknowledge the engagement, and she 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 "explore". How delightful. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. 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 called from the back door 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 endless scrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.