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Well, how did you experience 2025 in your household? Was it all as good as people post on social media? Overflowing with academic success for the children and elaborate costume celebrations for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a swamp of disappointment with only occasional fun flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or is everyone now seven-fingered AI slop beings with perfect smiles?

I've corralled my thoughts together, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in twelve months: which video games we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. I respect that.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 exceptionally well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after family time.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play any time. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I understand that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. 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 questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and high launch costs. 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 called from the back door at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or endless scrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur 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 wait patiently until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.