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Well, what did you think of the past year in your home? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on social media? Full of academic success for the kids and wild dress-up celebrations for the parents? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only sporadic enjoyable highlights? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect teeth?

I've assembled the family together, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the most important thing in twelve months: which video games we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

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

"Digitally?"

"In the actual world."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with far 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 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.

Game 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 relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

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

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled 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. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I appreciated 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I present that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I get that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. 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 Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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

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

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 phone use, 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 wait patiently until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.