🔗 Share this article

Well, how was 2025 in your family? Could it be described as truly wonderful as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with top marks for the kids and wild dress-up gatherings for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of disappointment with only rare enjoyable moments? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become AI-generated synthetic personas with celebrity dental work?

I have gathered everyone together, willing or unwilling, to debate the most important thing in any given year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. I respect that.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Game the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every 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 protests, 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 Notable Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Game 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 constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand 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 iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

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

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that in the exact way, 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

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I acknowledge 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 mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between business deals that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious 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 garden at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or phone use, but it burns like the mines of sulphur 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 stretch time until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.