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So, what did you think of the past year in your family? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on online? Full of academic success for the kids and riotous costume celebrations for the adults? Maybe it felt like a swamp of frustration with only sporadic fun flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or are we all AI-generated AI slop beings with celebrity teeth?

I have gathered everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to debate the paramount thing in twelve months: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Point taken.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable 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 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 exceptionally well-crafted card game competitive game, with its regularly updated 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 have a moment of clarity and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after family time.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play constantly. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I mentioned 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 appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that as written, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I get 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 current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting 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 console gaming or doomscrolling, but it aches 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 cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.