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Well, how was 2025 in your household? Could it be described as truly wonderful as people post on online? Packed with top marks for the kids and riotous costume gatherings for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of frustration with only sporadic fun highlights? And was any of it actually real, or have we all become AI-generated AI slop beings with unrealistic teeth?

I've corralled my thoughts together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the most important thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is a machine. More impressive 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 exceptionally well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its ever-changing 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 eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral 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 required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was late to it. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Throw in 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 an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a glitch in another game soured 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 slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between business deals that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

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 shouted from the doorstep 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 video games or doomscrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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.