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Alright, how was this year in your home? Was it all as good as you pretended on online? Full of academic success for the kids and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of frustration with only sporadic enjoyable flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become digitally altered synthetic personas with celebrity smiles?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: which releases we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

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

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Fair enough.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. 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.

Title I Teased My Kids About 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 classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the 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.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after family time.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play any time. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on 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 overall polish – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I understand that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify 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 sound good names called from the doorstep at tea time.

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 is sore like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 stretch time until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.