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So, how did you experience this year in your family? Did it seem entirely positive as you pretended on online? Overflowing with A-grades for your offspring and riotous costume birthday parties for the parents? Or was it a ocean of letdowns with only sporadic entertaining moments? And was any of it authentic, or have we all become seven-fingered AI slop beings with celebrity dental work?

I've assembled my thoughts for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

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

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. I respect that.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is 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 older sibling has in real life.

Game the Spouse 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. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character 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

It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. More impressive 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 exceptionally well-crafted card game digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a classic 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'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked 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 appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I could play constantly. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after playing 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 "missing the point". I mention that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I understand that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. 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 raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Foolish 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. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or phone use, but it is sore like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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.