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Alright, how was the past year in your household? Was it all as good as people post on online? Full of A-grades for the children and elaborate costume celebrations for the adults? Or perhaps it was a swamp of frustration with only occasional enjoyable highlights? And was any of it genuine, or have we all become digitally altered AI slop beings with perfect dental work?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in any given year: what titles we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Fair enough.

Title Youngest 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 her avatar has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has in real life.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Game 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 complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted strategy digital pastime, 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 have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted.

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 problems so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it required earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after family time.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play any time. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism 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 massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant.

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 called from the garden 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 console gaming or phone use, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the past.

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 cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.