🔗 Share this article

Alright, what did you think of this year in your home? Was it truly wonderful as people post on online? Packed with top marks for the children and wild dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Or was it a sea of letdowns with only sporadic fun flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become AI-generated synthetic personas with perfect teeth?

I've assembled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the most important thing in twelve months: which video games we played the most. Without further ado:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Fair enough.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old 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 adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest 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 exceptionally 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 catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different wild 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 absolute 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.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that as written, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I get that it has great art and is flawless if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible 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 make interesting names shouted from the back door at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or phone use, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 wait patiently until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.