🔗 Share this article

Alright, how did you experience this year in your household? Did it seem all as good as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with top marks for the kids and wild costume gatherings for the parents? Or was it a sea of letdowns with only sporadic fun highlights? Could any part be actually real, or is everyone now digitally altered synthetic personas with celebrity smiles?

I've assembled everyone for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in any given year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

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

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. I respect that.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

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

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can mature and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play any time. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, 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 brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I understand that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious 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 make interesting names called from the garden 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 video games or phone use, but it burns like anything 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.