🔗 Share this article

Alright, how was the past year in your home? Was it all as good as one might claim on social media? Overflowing with academic success for the children and wild themed fancy dress gatherings for the adults? Or was it a ocean of frustration with only occasional enjoyable highlights? Could any part be authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered synthetic personas with unrealistic smiles?

I have gathered everyone together, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the most important thing in any given year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

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

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Title the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib 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 mature and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up 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 Crazy Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the garden 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 phone use, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 wait patiently until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.