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So, how did you experience 2025 in your household? Was it entirely positive as one might claim on online? Packed with top marks for your offspring and riotous themed fancy dress gatherings for the parents? Or perhaps it was a ocean of letdowns with only occasional entertaining highlights? Could any part be authentic, or are we all seven-fingered virtual entities with celebrity smiles?

I've assembled the family together, ready or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Title 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%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her phone game: 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 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, 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 understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after family time.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play constantly. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a wave of criticism when I mentioned 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 production values – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that verbatim, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I understand that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the garden at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or doomscrolling, but it is sore like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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.