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Alright, how was 2025 in your household? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on online? Full of A-grades for your offspring and wild costume gatherings for the adults? Or was it a swamp of disappointment with only rare fun flotsam? Is any of this authentic, or is everyone now seven-fingered AI slop beings with perfect teeth?

I've assembled my thoughts together, ready or not, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. I respect that.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after evening drinks.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do 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 massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after experiencing 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 "poorly reasoned". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I understand 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 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 the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious 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 make interesting names shouted from the doorstep 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 video games or endless scrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 wait patiently until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.