🔗 Share this article

So, how was 2025 in your family? Was it all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Overflowing with academic success for your offspring and wild themed fancy dress celebrations for the adults? Or perhaps it was a ocean of disappointment with only rare fun highlights? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become AI-generated AI slop beings with unrealistic dental work?

I've assembled everyone together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. I respect that.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. 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 insanely 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 endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and see 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.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral 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 relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after playing 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 respect the passion, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I understand that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and concerning.

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 shouted from the back door at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.