🔗 Share this article

Well, how was the past year in your home? Could it be described as entirely positive as one might claim on online? Overflowing with A-grades for the kids and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the grownups? Or was it a ocean of disappointment with only rare entertaining moments? Is any of this actually real, or is everyone now seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect dental work?

I've corralled everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: which video games we played the most. Without further ado:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

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

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, 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 far better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

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 eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can mature and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted card game digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update 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 affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced 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 massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I valued even more after experiencing 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 "missing the point". I mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. 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’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good 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 endless scrolling, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.