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So, what did you think of the past year in your home? Was it entirely positive as people post on Facebook? Overflowing with A-grades for the kids and riotous themed fancy dress gatherings for the adults? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only rare fun moments? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?

I've corralled the family together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

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

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Game the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent 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 unscrew pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Superior 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 card game wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Combine that with the charm 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.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game damaged 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 playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I understand that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed 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 button mashing or phone use, but it is sore like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.