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So, how did you experience 2025 in your household? Could it be described as all as good as people post on social media? Packed with A-grades for your offspring and elaborate dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a ocean of letdowns with only occasional enjoyable highlights? Is any of this authentic, or have we all become digitally altered synthetic personas with unrealistic teeth?

I've corralled everyone for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the crucial thing in a calendar year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Fair enough.

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Game the Spouse 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 marathon 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

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, 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 Impressive 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 Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured 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 beginning. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked 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 early morning after evening drinks.

Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and provide little 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 flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify and concerning.

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. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, but it burns 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 stretch time until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.