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Well, what did you think of this year in your family? Could it be described as entirely positive as one might claim on social media? Full of academic success for the children and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a sea of disappointment with only occasional fun flotsam? And was any of it authentic, or are we all seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?

I have gathered everyone for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. I respect that.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Game the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Even better 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 insanely well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

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

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play any time. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do 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 glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I recognized even more after playing 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 "missing the point". I present that verbatim, because I respect the passion, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I get that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between business deals that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Crazy 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. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it burns like anything 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.