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Alright, how did you experience the past year in your household? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Overflowing with A-grades for the children and wild costume gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a ocean of disappointment with only sporadic entertaining highlights? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become digitally altered AI slop beings with unrealistic dental work?

I've assembled my thoughts together, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in twelve months: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In reality."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Youngest 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 spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Title the Partner 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 Laughed at 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 prepare him so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted card game competitive game, with its regularly updated 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 wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling 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 plan to dive into this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I wrote about 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 production values – 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 mention that as written, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. 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". Great fun. I get that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when all 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 less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names shouted from the back door at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.