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Alright, how was 2025 in your family? Did it seem all as good as one might claim on online? Overflowing with academic success for the children and elaborate dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of frustration with only occasional entertaining highlights? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect dental work?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the most important thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

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

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Title Third 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 successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% 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 unscrew pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can grow up and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This 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

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, 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 see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Game 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 relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that verbatim, 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

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I get that it looks ace and is perfection 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'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the garden 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 video games or doomscrolling, but it is sore like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.