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Alright, what did you think of 2025 in your home? Could it be described as entirely positive as people post on social media? Overflowing with academic success for the children and elaborate themed fancy dress gatherings for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a swamp of letdowns with only rare entertaining flotsam? Could any part be actually real, or is everyone now AI-generated AI slop beings with perfect teeth?

I've assembled the family together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

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

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Fair enough.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Game the Spouse 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 phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. 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 insanely well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its constantly evolving 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 have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. 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 decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play any time. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a glitch in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I present that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, 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 my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Debate between business deals that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible 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 called from the garden 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 endless scrolling, but it aches like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.