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Well, how was 2025 in your home? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with A-grades for the kids and wild dress-up celebrations for the parents? Or was it a swamp of disappointment with only occasional fun highlights? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now AI-generated synthetic personas with unrealistic smiles?

I've assembled my thoughts for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the most important thing in any given year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In real life."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. 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 playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he complains, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can grow up and play games for mature audiences. 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 unstoppable. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 exceptionally well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true 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 Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and she is 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 provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I get that it is beautiful and is flawless 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 my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. 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 sound good names bellowed from the garden at bedtime.

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 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 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 stretch time until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.