🔗 Share this article

Well, how did you experience this year in your family? Did it seem entirely positive as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with top marks for your offspring and wild dress-up birthday parties for the adults? Or was it a ocean of letdowns with only sporadic fun highlights? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become digitally altered virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, ready or not, to debate the most important thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. I respect that.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.

Release 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. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract 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 persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 wizard’s poker, 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 frequently update their range is you wake up one day and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven 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 classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after evening drinks.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing 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 at any hour. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a technical issue 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 appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter 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 respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I get that it has great art and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of 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 less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Stupid 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. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or doomscrolling, but it aches like anything 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.