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Well, how did you experience the past year in your home? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Overflowing with academic success for your offspring and wild dress-up birthday parties for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a ocean of letdowns with only occasional fun flotsam? Is any of this genuine, or are we all digitally altered synthetic personas with perfect smiles?

I've assembled the family together, ready or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in a calendar year: which releases we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. Fair enough.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: 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 mature and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better 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 card game digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

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

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have 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 family time.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a glitch in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you 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 verbatim, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I understand that it has great art and is ideal 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 most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that caused concern, and high launch costs. 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 shouted from the garden 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 video games or doomscrolling, but it is sore like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.