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Well, how did you experience this year in your home? Did it seem all as good as people post on online? Packed with A-grades for your offspring and riotous costume birthday parties for the grownups? Or was it a sea of frustration with only rare enjoyable flotsam? And was any of it actually real, or is everyone now AI-generated AI slop beings with celebrity teeth?

I've assembled the family for a chat, willing or unwilling, to debate the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my definitive list."

Meanwhile, on mobile, 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 refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. Point taken.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game 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 protests, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can mature and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that constantly evolve 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.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive 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 plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a wave of criticism when I mentioned how a glitch in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I understand that it has great art and is ideal if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my current stage of life. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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

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

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 phone use, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.