🔗 Share this article

So, how did you experience this year in your family? Did it seem entirely positive as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with academic success for your offspring and wild dress-up celebrations for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of frustration with only rare enjoyable moments? And was any of it genuine, or are we all AI-generated virtual entities with celebrity teeth?

I've assembled my thoughts for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to 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

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began 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 unscrew pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own 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 catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with 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

Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with 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 beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a glitch in another game ruined 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I present that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I understand that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the garden 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 button mashing or endless scrolling, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 wait patiently until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.