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So, how did you experience the past year in your household? Was it truly wonderful as you pretended on social media? Full of top marks for your offspring and wild costume birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of frustration with only rare entertaining moments? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect dental work?

I have gathered everyone for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in any given year: which video games we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my definitive list."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. Point taken.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has in real life.

Title the Wife 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 long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can mature and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled 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 classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after evening drinks.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play any time. 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 an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced 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 colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I mention that as written, 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

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I understand that it looks ace and is flawless 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 I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

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

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names called 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 doomscrolling, 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.