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Alright, how did you experience 2025 in your family? Did it seem entirely positive as one might claim on online? Packed with A-grades for the kids and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the adults? Maybe it felt like a sea of disappointment with only sporadic fun moments? Is any of this authentic, or have we all become digitally altered AI slop beings with unrealistic smiles?

I've assembled everyone together, ready or not, to debate the most important thing in a calendar year: which video games we played the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Release the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can mature and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy 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 endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize 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 was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge 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 special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true pinnacle of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a glitch in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that verbatim, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I get that it has great art and is flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called from the doorstep 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 aches like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.