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Alright, how was this year in your home? Did it seem truly wonderful as you pretended on online? Full of academic success for your offspring and riotous themed fancy dress gatherings for the adults? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only rare fun highlights? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become AI-generated AI slop beings with celebrity smiles?

I've corralled everyone together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we played the most. Let's get started:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Fair enough.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Title the Wife 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 phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. More impressive 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 strategy competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into 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

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

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’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 effects behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play any time. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse 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 glitch in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I get 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 adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Stupid 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 video games or doomscrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the day.

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 wait patiently until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.