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Alright, what did you think of the past year in your home? Did it seem all as good as people post on Facebook? Packed with A-grades for the kids and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a sea of letdowns with only occasional fun flotsam? And was any of it genuine, or is everyone now seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity smiles?

I have gathered the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Point taken.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent 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 remove pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About 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 complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic 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 unstoppable. 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 remarkably well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its regularly updated 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 wake up one day and understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with 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 iconic franchise. Captivating 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'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Combine that with the charm 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 an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after slogging through 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 as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

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 called from the doorstep at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or doomscrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 stretch time until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.