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Well, how did you experience 2025 in your household? Was it truly wonderful as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with A-grades for your offspring and elaborate themed fancy dress celebrations for the parents? Or was it a sea of letdowns with only sporadic enjoyable moments? Is any of this authentic, or is everyone now AI-generated AI slop beings with perfect smiles?

I've corralled everyone for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Fair enough.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Game the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. 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.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can mature and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days 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 remarkably well-crafted card game digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on 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 Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play constantly. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a wave of criticism when I critiqued 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 recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an sharp 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 don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I understand that it has great art and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less 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 News of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and concerning.

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

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

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the past.

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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.