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So, what did you think of the past year in your household? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with top marks for your offspring and wild costume birthday parties for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of letdowns with only sporadic entertaining highlights? And was any of it actually real, or have we all become digitally altered virtual entities with unrealistic dental work?

I've corralled everyone together, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we played the most. Let's get started:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my definitive list."

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

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Release the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Laughed at 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 complains, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, 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 suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my problems so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience 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 breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play at any hour. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator 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 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 contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present 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

Alright. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I get that it has great art and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Foolish 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 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 protected 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.