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So, how was this year in your home? Could it be described as truly wonderful as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with top marks for the kids and wild costume gatherings for the parents? Maybe it felt like a sea of letdowns with only sporadic enjoyable highlights? Could any part be actually real, or is everyone now AI-generated AI slop beings with celebrity smiles?

I've assembled everyone together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in any given year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Game Oldest 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, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Point taken.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title 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 persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Even better than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter 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 appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I get that it looks ace and is ideal 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 many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant.

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 garden at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or phone use, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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.