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Alright, how did you experience this year in your home? Was it all as good as one might claim on social media? Full of A-grades for the children and wild dress-up celebrations for the adults? Maybe it felt like a sea of frustration with only sporadic enjoyable moments? Is any of this genuine, or is everyone now digitally altered synthetic personas with unrealistic smiles?

I've assembled the family together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in any given year: which releases we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In real life."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. I respect that.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Game the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can mature and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest 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

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary 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 gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game 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 colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the garden 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 button mashing or endless scrolling, but it is sore like the mines of sulphur 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.