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Well, how did you experience this year in your household? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Overflowing with A-grades for your offspring and wild costume birthday parties for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a swamp of disappointment with only occasional entertaining moments? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become digitally altered AI slop beings with celebrity dental work?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, ready or not, to debate the crucial thing in twelve months: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

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

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Point taken.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Found Amusing That 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 complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its ever-changing 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 understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a glitch in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. 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 acknowledge that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into challenging games, 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 my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between business deals that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the back door at bedtime.

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 doomscrolling, but it is sore like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 stretch time until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.