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Alright, what did you think of 2025 in your family? Was it truly wonderful as you pretended on online? Overflowing with academic success for the children and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a sea of letdowns with only sporadic entertaining flotsam? And was any of it actually real, or are we all AI-generated synthetic personas with unrealistic smiles?

I've assembled the family for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the crucial thing in any given year: which video games we played the most. So here goes:

Game First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate 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. I respect that.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.

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. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can mature and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. Superior 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 exceptionally well-crafted card game competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to lure 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 iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after appropriate hospitality.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play constantly. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I valued even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I acknowledge that it has great art 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 current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify 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 back door at bedtime.

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 endless scrolling, but it aches like anything 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.