🔗 Share this article

Well, how did you experience 2025 in your home? Did it seem truly wonderful as people post on online? Packed with A-grades for the kids and wild costume gatherings for the grownups? Or was it a ocean of letdowns with only occasional fun highlights? Is any of this genuine, or are we all AI-generated AI slop beings with unrealistic teeth?

I have gathered my thoughts for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the most important thing in twelve months: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. I respect that.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Found Amusing That 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 objects, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. 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 insanely 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 worst thing about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So love turned to hate 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 classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after evening drinks.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play any time. Combine that with the charm 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 an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I valued even more after slogging through 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 "poorly reasoned". I mention that verbatim, 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

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I understand that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the back door at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the past.

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.