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So, how did you experience 2025 in your family? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on social media? Packed with top marks for the children and riotous costume gatherings for the grownups? Or was it a ocean of disappointment with only occasional fun moments? Could any part be genuine, or is everyone now seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity smiles?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in any given year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Fair enough.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Release the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Laughed at 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 relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for grownups. 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 a machine. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games 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 insanely well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

Title 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 focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I could play constantly. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind 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 specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I recognized even more after slogging through 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 "poorly reasoned". I present that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I understand that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when many 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 questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify 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 sound good names called from the garden 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 doomscrolling, but it burns like anything 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.