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So, how did you experience 2025 in your household? Was it entirely positive as you pretended on online? Full of A-grades for your offspring and elaborate costume birthday parties for the adults? Maybe it felt like a sea of frustration with only occasional fun highlights? And was any of it authentic, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with perfect dental work?

I have gathered everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the most important thing in twelve months: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Title Third 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 elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

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

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can be a man and play games for adults. This defines our 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. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its constantly evolving 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 eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled 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

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling 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 aim to experience this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I mentioned 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 production values – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that as written, because I appreciate the effort, 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 Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I get that it has great art and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most 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 questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between business deals that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the back door at bedtime.

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 doomscrolling, but it aches like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.