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Alright, what did you think of this year in your household? Was it all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Packed with academic success for the children and elaborate dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a ocean of disappointment with only occasional fun flotsam? Is any of this actually real, or is everyone now AI-generated AI slop beings with perfect dental work?

I've assembled the family for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to debate the paramount thing in a calendar year: which releases we played the most. So here goes:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In reality."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. 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 tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Game the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it 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 remove pins.

Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

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 insanely well-crafted deck building 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 fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after evening drinks.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an excellent 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 leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. 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 mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between business deals that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the doorstep at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, but it aches like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.