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Well, how was this year in your family? Was it entirely positive as one might claim on online? Full of top marks for your offspring and riotous themed fancy dress gatherings for the adults? Or was it a sea of frustration with only sporadic fun highlights? Is any of this actually real, or are we all seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity teeth?

I have gathered my thoughts for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the most important thing in any given year: which releases we played the most. So here goes:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

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

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Point taken.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Laughed at 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 objects, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the 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.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted card game digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game soured 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 experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that verbatim, because I respect the passion, 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 punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I get that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names shouted from the doorstep at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it aches 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.