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Alright, how did you experience the past year in your household? Could it be described as all as good as one might claim on online? Packed with top marks for the children and elaborate themed fancy dress gatherings for the grownups? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only occasional fun flotsam? And was any of it authentic, or have we all become AI-generated synthetic personas with perfect dental work?

I have gathered everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the paramount thing in twelve months: what titles we played the most. So here goes:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Point taken.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big 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. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game wizard’s poker, 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 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 was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning 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 absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge 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 want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between business deals that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the doorstep at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it aches like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.