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Well, how was the past year in your family? Could it be described as entirely positive as you pretended on online? Full of academic success for the kids and elaborate costume birthday parties for the parents? Or was it a ocean of disappointment with only sporadic enjoyable highlights? Could any part be actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic teeth?

I've assembled everyone together, ready or not, to reflect on the most important thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Release the Partner 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. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every 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 behaving this way to prepare him so he can mature 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 a machine. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games 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 card game digital pastime, 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 wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled 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

Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game ruined 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 my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a bastard-hard 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 has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of 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 the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. 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 be unique names called from the back door 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 doomscrolling, 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 stretch time until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.