🔗 Share this article

Alright, what did you think of 2025 in your family? Was it entirely positive as one might claim on social media? Full of academic success for your offspring and riotous costume celebrations for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of frustration with only sporadic entertaining flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become AI-generated virtual entities with celebrity smiles?

I've corralled everyone together, ready or not, to discuss the most important thing in twelve months: which video games we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive 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 card game competitive game, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven 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 iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I decline 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 wee small hours after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play any time. 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 broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I valued even more after playing 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I present that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I understand that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More

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

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, but it is sore like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.