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Well, how did you experience 2025 in your home? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on social media? Full of academic success for the children and wild dress-up celebrations for the grownups? Or was it a swamp of frustration with only sporadic enjoyable highlights? Could any part be genuine, or are we all digitally altered virtual entities with perfect smiles?

I've corralled everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: what titles we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

On her phone, her go-to has been 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 seemed insulted that I even asked. Fair enough.

Title 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 tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.

Release the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year 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 remove pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 card game digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play at any hour. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I acknowledge that it looks ace 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 many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the back door at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the 90s.

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.