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So, how did you experience the past year in your home? Did it seem truly wonderful as one might claim on online? Packed with academic success for your offspring and elaborate themed fancy dress gatherings for the adults? Or was it a sea of letdowns with only occasional fun highlights? Could any part be actually real, or are we all digitally altered synthetic personas with perfect teeth?

I have gathered the family for a chat, ready or not, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

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

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent 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.

Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very 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 a machine. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely 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 downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and see 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 got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my demons so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after family time.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I understand that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less 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 so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify 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 make interesting names bellowed from the doorstep at bedtime.

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 endless scrolling, but it is sore like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the 90s.

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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.