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So, how was 2025 in your family? Was it all as good as you pretended on online? Overflowing with A-grades for your offspring and wild dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only rare enjoyable moments? And was any of it genuine, or are we all digitally altered virtual entities with perfect dental work?

I've corralled the family for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: which releases we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In real life."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 wizard’s poker, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the time or headspace to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after family time.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan 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 contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I get that it is beautiful and is ideal 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 all 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 outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

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

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names shouted 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 video games or endless scrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur 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 make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.