🔗 Share this article

Well, what did you think of this year in your home? Could it be described as all as good as one might claim on social media? Overflowing with A-grades for your offspring and wild themed fancy dress celebrations for the adults? Maybe it felt like a ocean of letdowns with only rare entertaining highlights? And was any of it authentic, or are we all seven-fingered AI slop beings with celebrity dental work?

I've corralled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. I respect that.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting 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 successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very 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 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 strategy wizard’s poker, 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 frequently update their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after family time.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I get that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names called from the back door 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 console gaming or phone use, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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.