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Well, how did you experience the past year in your household? Did it seem truly wonderful as one might claim on social media? Full of top marks for the kids and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a swamp of letdowns with only rare enjoyable highlights? And was any of it genuine, or are we all AI-generated synthetic personas with unrealistic dental work?

I've corralled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the paramount thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Point taken.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can be a man 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

It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its constantly evolving 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 have a moment of clarity and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment 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 classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the focused attention 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.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak 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.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I understand that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

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

Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the doorstep at bedtime.

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 is sore like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.