🔗 Share this article

So, what did you think of 2025 in your household? Did it seem all as good as one might claim on social media? Packed with top marks for the kids and wild dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Or was it a sea of disappointment with only rare entertaining highlights? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become AI-generated synthetic personas with celebrity dental work?

I've assembled everyone together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the crucial thing in twelve months: what titles we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Point taken.

Game 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 playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling 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 finished the year at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy digital pastime, 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 frequently update their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my demons 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 didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was late to it. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play at any hour. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a glitch in another game ruined 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 send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, 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 I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the garden at tea 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 doomscrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.