🔗 Share this article

Well, how was 2025 in your family? Was it entirely positive as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with A-grades for the children and riotous themed fancy dress birthday parties for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a swamp of letdowns with only occasional entertaining highlights? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic dental work?

I've assembled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the most important thing in any given year: which releases we played the most. Let's get started:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. I respect that.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can grow up and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game 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 frequently update their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled 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 classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on 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 late night after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I could play any time. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that verbatim, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I understand that it has great art and is flawless if you are into the genre, 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 I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names called from the doorstep at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it is sore 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 wait patiently until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.