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Well, what did you think of this year in your family? Did it seem truly wonderful as you pretended on Facebook? Full of top marks for your offspring and wild costume birthday parties for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of letdowns with only sporadic entertaining moments? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with perfect dental work?

I have gathered the family together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

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

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Fair enough.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can mature and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days 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 exceptionally well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside 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

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. 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 focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after family time.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I mentioned how a specific bug 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 appreciated 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 "missing the point". I mention that verbatim, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I understand that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify 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 be unique names bellowed from the back door at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur 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 wait patiently until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.