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Alright, how was the past year in your home? Did it seem truly wonderful as people post on social media? Packed with top marks for your offspring and elaborate dress-up celebrations for the adults? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only sporadic enjoyable highlights? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become AI-generated synthetic personas with unrealistic dental work?

I have gathered everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in any given year: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game 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

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It's a long haul 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 set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him 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 This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Even better 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 exceptionally well-crafted card game digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after family time.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite 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.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I get that it has great art and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, 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 I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible 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 make interesting names shouted from the doorstep at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or doomscrolling, but it burns like anything 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 wait patiently until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.