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Alright, what did you think of this year in your home? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on online? Full of top marks for the kids and wild dress-up gatherings for the adults? Or was it a sea of letdowns with only occasional enjoyable highlights? Could any part be actually real, or have we all become digitally altered virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?

I have gathered the family for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to debate the most important thing in a calendar year: which releases we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Release the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% 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 remove pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. Even better 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 deck building competitive game, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after family time.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift 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 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 colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I get that it has great art and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify 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 make interesting names shouted from the back door at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or doomscrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur 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 make 2026 last until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.