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Alright, how did you experience 2025 in your family? Could it be described as truly wonderful as people post on online? Full of academic success for the children and elaborate dress-up celebrations for the adults? Or perhaps it was a ocean of letdowns with only rare fun flotsam? Is any of this authentic, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with perfect dental work?

I've corralled my thoughts together, ready or not, to debate the most important thing in twelve months: what titles we played the most. Let's get started:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Release the Partner 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 marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and realise 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 went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after family time.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an true pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I mention that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is ideal 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 most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between business deals that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names shouted from the garden at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or phone use, but it burns like anything 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.