🔗 Share this article

Well, how did you experience the past year in your home? Could it be described as entirely positive as you pretended on Facebook? Full of A-grades for your offspring and riotous themed fancy dress birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a sea of disappointment with only sporadic enjoyable flotsam? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity dental work?

I have gathered my thoughts for a chat, ready or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. Point taken.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Release the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

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

Release 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 toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy 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 have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral 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 required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after family time.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that as written, because I respect the passion, 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 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 looks ace and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names called from the doorstep at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. 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 protected 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.