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Well, what did you think of this year in your household? Was it truly wonderful as people post on Facebook? Full of A-grades for your offspring and riotous themed fancy dress celebrations for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only rare enjoyable moments? Could any part be authentic, or is everyone now seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?

I have gathered everyone together, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in twelve months: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. Fair enough.

Release 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 immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

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

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

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

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title 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 issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play at any hour. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after experiencing 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I present that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I acknowledge that it has great art 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 mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called 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 video games or phone use, but it is sore like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.