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Alright, what did you think of the past year in your home? Was it entirely positive as people post on online? Overflowing with A-grades for your offspring and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Or perhaps it was a ocean of frustration with only occasional fun highlights? And was any of it actually real, or are we all seven-fingered virtual entities with celebrity teeth?

I've assembled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. Point taken.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted deck building 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 understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven 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 off. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

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

Blue Prince

I refuse 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 aim to experience this in the wee small hours after family time.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play any time. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I dream of 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 endured a wave of criticism when I mentioned how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after playing 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 "poorly reasoned". I present that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I get that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Crazy 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. 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 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.