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Well, how did you experience the past year in your home? Was it entirely positive as people post on Facebook? Packed with academic success for the children and wild costume birthday parties for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of frustration with only sporadic entertaining highlights? Could any part be authentic, or are we all AI-generated AI slop beings with perfect dental work?

I've assembled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

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

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Point taken.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

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

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled 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. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true pinnacle of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed 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 button mashing or doomscrolling, but it is sore like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.