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So, how did you experience the past year in your household? Did it seem entirely positive as one might claim on social media? Packed with A-grades for the kids and wild themed fancy dress birthday parties for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only rare enjoyable moments? Is any of this actually real, or is everyone now seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity smiles?

I've assembled everyone for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in a calendar year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Point taken.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Release the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

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

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. It's a classic 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 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 strategy digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an true pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I understand that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious 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 sound good names bellowed from the back door 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 aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.