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Well, how did you experience 2025 in your home? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on online? Overflowing with A-grades for the children and wild themed fancy dress celebrations for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only occasional entertaining highlights? Could any part be authentic, or are we all AI-generated synthetic personas with unrealistic dental work?

I've corralled my thoughts together, ready or not, to debate the most important thing in twelve months: which releases we played the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. I respect that.

Title 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 tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever 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 behaving this way to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest 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

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with 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

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With holiday guests 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 acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark 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 Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that verbatim, 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

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I get that it is beautiful and is flawless 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 fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the doorstep at dinner 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 aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.