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So, how did you experience this year in your family? Was it all as good as you pretended on online? Overflowing with top marks for your offspring and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a ocean of disappointment with only rare entertaining moments? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect teeth?

I've assembled everyone together, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my adult 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 toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for adults. This defines our 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 a machine. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy competitive game, 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 have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title 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 deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game damaged 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 contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an astute 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 don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I get that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

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

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the back door at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it is sore like the mines of sulphur 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 wait patiently until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.