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Well, what did you think of 2025 in your family? Could it be described as all as good as one might claim on Facebook? Overflowing with academic success for the kids and elaborate costume celebrations for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a sea of disappointment with only occasional fun highlights? Is any of this authentic, or are we all seven-fingered AI slop beings with perfect smiles?

I have gathered the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in any given year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my definitive list."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Fair enough.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. 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 give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games 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 card game wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch 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 fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. 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 gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle 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 Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a glitch in another game ruined 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 individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that as written, 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

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I get that it looks ace 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 adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the back door at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. 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 insured 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 stretch time until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.