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So, how did you experience the past year in your family? Was it entirely positive as people post on online? Packed with top marks for your offspring and riotous dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a sea of frustration with only rare entertaining flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or is everyone now AI-generated synthetic personas with celebrity dental work?

I have gathered everyone together, ready or not, to reflect on the paramount thing in a calendar year: which releases we played the most. Let's get started:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In the actual world."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. 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 successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started 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. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time 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 doing this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. 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 exceptionally well-crafted card game wizard’s poker, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled 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

Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could deal with my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral 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 required 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 know Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a specific bug 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 valued even more after experiencing 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 "missing the point". I present that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I get that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called from the garden at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or phone use, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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.