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Alright, what did you think of this year in your home? Could it be described as entirely positive as you pretended on social media? Full of A-grades for the children and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the adults? Maybe it felt like a sea of letdowns with only occasional fun flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become digitally altered virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?

I've corralled my thoughts together, willing or unwilling, to debate the crucial thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

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

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. Point taken.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.

Release the Partner 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

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can grow up and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game wizard’s poker, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after evening drinks.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Throw 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 nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I get that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the garden 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 endless scrolling, but it is sore like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after back in the past.

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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.