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Well, how did you experience the past year in your home? Could it be described as entirely positive as people post on online? Packed with A-grades for the kids and wild costume gatherings for the parents? Or was it a sea of disappointment with only rare entertaining highlights? Could any part be authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered synthetic personas with unrealistic teeth?

I've corralled the family for a reflection, ready or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: what titles we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Game the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run 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

Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games 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 remarkably well-crafted deck building 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 constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my demons so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused 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 deserved earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I mention that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a bastard-hard Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Stupid 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. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.