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Alright, how did you experience 2025 in your household? Was it all as good as people post on online? Full of academic success for your offspring and wild costume gatherings for the parents? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only occasional fun highlights? Could any part be genuine, or is everyone now seven-fingered AI slop beings with celebrity smiles?

I've corralled the family for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In the actual world."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Game the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% 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

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior 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 insanely well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment 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. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after family time.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. 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 am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between business deals that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

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 shouted from the doorstep 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 video games or endless scrolling, but it is sore like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the day.

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.