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So, how was 2025 in your household? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Packed with top marks for the children and wild dress-up celebrations for the adults? Or perhaps it was a ocean of letdowns with only rare enjoyable moments? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now AI-generated AI slop beings with unrealistic smiles?

I've corralled my thoughts together, willing or unwilling, to debate the paramount thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. Fair enough.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Game the Partner 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 long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy 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 endlessly add to their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with 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

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my demons 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 was short on the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a glitch in another game ruined 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 experiencing 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 "poorly reasoned". I mention that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I acknowledge 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 mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.

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 shouted from the garden at tea 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 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 cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.