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So, how was the past year in your family? Did it seem entirely positive as people post on social media? Full of academic success for your offspring and elaborate dress-up celebrations for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of frustration with only rare fun highlights? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered AI slop beings with unrealistic dental work?

I've corralled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Title the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old 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 toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted card game wizard’s poker, 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 eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven 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

Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge that it has great art and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most 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

Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify 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 be unique names called from the garden 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 phone use, but it aches like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after back in the day.

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.