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Well, how did you experience this year in your family? Was it all as good as people post on Facebook? Full of top marks for the children and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a sea of frustration with only sporadic fun flotsam? And was any of it authentic, or are we all AI-generated virtual entities with celebrity dental work?

I've corralled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in any given year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Title Oldest 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 "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Fair enough.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Release the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Release I Found Amusing That 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 protests, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 exceptionally well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received 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 colossal 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 reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I understand that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between business deals that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

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 shouted from the doorstep at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it burns 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.