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Well, how was 2025 in your household? Was it all as good as one might claim on social media? Full of A-grades for the kids and riotous dress-up celebrations for the adults? Or was it a ocean of letdowns with only sporadic enjoyable highlights? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become AI-generated AI slop beings with perfect teeth?

I have gathered my thoughts for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. Fair enough.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

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

Game the Spouse 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 marathon 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 adult son playing Minecraft, I set about 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 adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. 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 remarkably well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to lure 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

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. 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 decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play at any hour. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I fantasize about 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 received a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after playing 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 share that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I acknowledge that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between business deals that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names shouted from the doorstep at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or doomscrolling, but it is sore like hellfire 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.