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Well, how was this year in your family? Did it seem all as good as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with top marks for the children and wild dress-up celebrations for the adults? Maybe it felt like a sea of frustration with only occasional enjoyable highlights? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered AI slop beings with perfect smiles?

I've corralled everyone together, ready or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in twelve months: what titles we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. I respect that.

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.

Game the Spouse 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.

Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can grow up and play games for grownups. 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 incredible. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven 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

Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced 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 colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I understand that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of 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 questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious 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 bellowed from the back door at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it aches 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 wait patiently until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.