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Well, what did you think of 2025 in your home? Was it all as good as you pretended on online? Packed with A-grades for your offspring and elaborate costume celebrations for the parents? Or perhaps it was a ocean of disappointment with only occasional enjoyable flotsam? Could any part be authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered virtual entities with unrealistic dental work?

I've corralled the family for a chat, ready or not, to discuss the paramount thing in any given year: which releases we played the most. Let's get started:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

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

"Digitally?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. Fair enough.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult 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 build character so he can grow up and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Superior 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 card game wizard’s poker, 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 wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven 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

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the time or headspace 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 family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a glitch in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out 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 acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both ethically dubious and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called 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 button mashing or phone use, but it burns 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.