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So, how was this year in your family? Was it entirely positive as you pretended on online? Packed with top marks for the kids and wild costume gatherings for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a ocean of frustration with only sporadic entertaining moments? Could any part be actually real, or have we all become digitally altered synthetic personas with celebrity teeth?

I've corralled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in twelve months: which releases we played the most. So here goes:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

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

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, 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 her avatar has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Release the Partner 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. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Title 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.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured 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 iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after family time.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism 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 gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. 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 understand that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. 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 business deals that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names called from the back door at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it burns 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.