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Well, how did you experience this year in your household? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with A-grades for your offspring and wild costume gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of letdowns with only occasional enjoyable highlights? And was any of it genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with unrealistic dental work?

I have gathered everyone for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. Fair enough.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he complains, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title 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 realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

Title 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 time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after evening drinks.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play any time. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game soured 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 slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". 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

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I understand that it has great art and is ideal if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the doorstep at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or phone use, but it burns like hellfire 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 wait patiently until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.