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Alright, how did you experience the past year in your household? Was it truly wonderful as people post on online? Overflowing with top marks for the children and wild dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of letdowns with only occasional enjoyable moments? And was any of it actually real, or are we all seven-fingered virtual entities with perfect teeth?

I've corralled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Point taken.

Release 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 playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can mature 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

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted card game wizard’s poker, with its constantly evolving 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 have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based 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

Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so imaginative 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 peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I recognized 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I present that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I get that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the back door at dinner 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 burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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.