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Alright, how did you experience this year in your home? Was it all as good as one might claim on online? Overflowing with top marks for the kids and wild dress-up celebrations for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only sporadic fun moments? Could any part be genuine, or are we all digitally altered synthetic personas with unrealistic smiles?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, ready or not, to reflect on the most important thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

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

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. I respect that.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. 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.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

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

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner 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

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely 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 endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity 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.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling 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 holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite peak 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 Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute 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 "figure it out". What a joy. I get that it has great art and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the back door at dinner 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 the mines of sulphur 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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.