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Alright, how was 2025 in your family? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on social media? Full of top marks for the children and riotous dress-up gatherings for the adults? Or was it a swamp of disappointment with only occasional fun highlights? And was any of it authentic, or are we all seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity teeth?

I have gathered my thoughts for a reflection, ready or not, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In reality."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. I respect that.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Game the Wife 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. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days 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 deck building wizard’s poker, with its ever-changing 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 eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

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 demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after family time.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was last 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 fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play any time. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift 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 minor pile-on when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game ruined 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 slogging through 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I share that in the exact way, 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

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I acknowledge that it is beautiful 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 current stage of life. I was around back when most 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 Scandal of 2025

Close call between business deals that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify 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 bellowed from the garden 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 doomscrolling, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 make 2026 last until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.