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So, how was 2025 in your family? Was it all as good as you pretended on online? Overflowing with top marks for your offspring and riotous themed fancy dress gatherings for the grownups? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only rare fun highlights? Could any part be authentic, or is everyone now AI-generated AI slop beings with unrealistic smiles?

I have gathered the family for a chat, ready or not, to reflect on the most important thing in any given year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. Fair enough.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Title the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play constantly. Add in the wittiness 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 an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after slogging through 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I present that as written, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I understand that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call 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 Stupid Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names called 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 button mashing or endless scrolling, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after back in the past.

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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.