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So, how did you experience 2025 in your home? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on social media? Full of A-grades for your offspring and wild themed fancy dress birthday parties for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only sporadic enjoyable moments? Could any part be actually real, or is everyone now seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?

I've corralled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the crucial thing in any given year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. Fair enough.

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

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

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better 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 deck building digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that frequently update their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after family time.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal 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 send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I get that it has great art and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the garden 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 video games or endless scrolling, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 stretch time until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.