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So, what did you think of this year in your family? Was it all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Full of top marks for the kids and riotous themed fancy dress birthday parties for the grownups? Or was it a sea of frustration with only sporadic enjoyable highlights? And was any of it authentic, or are we all seven-fingered virtual entities with perfect smiles?

I've assembled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to debate the most important thing in any given year: what titles we played the most. Let's get started:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Point taken.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with far 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 sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: 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 give him a hard time like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can grow up and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic 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. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title 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 decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it required earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I could play constantly. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a glitch in another game damaged 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 experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that in the exact way, 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

Alright. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I acknowledge that it has great art and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious 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 be unique names shouted from the garden at tea time.

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 the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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.