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So, how was the past year in your home? Did it seem entirely positive as you pretended on Facebook? Full of academic success for your offspring and elaborate themed fancy dress celebrations for the adults? Or was it a swamp of disappointment with only occasional entertaining moments? And was any of it genuine, or are we all digitally altered AI slop beings with unrealistic smiles?

I have gathered everyone for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: which releases we played the most. So here goes:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Point taken.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. 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 rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can mature and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted card game competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace 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 appropriate hospitality.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I could play any time. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a glitch in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized 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 "missing the point". I mention that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, 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 bastard-hard Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I understand that it has great art and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

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

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

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the past.

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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.