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So, how did you experience 2025 in your family? Did it seem all as good as people post on online? Overflowing with academic success for the kids and riotous dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a swamp of frustration with only rare enjoyable moments? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become digitally altered AI slop beings with unrealistic teeth?

I've corralled my thoughts for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the most important thing in any given year: which video games we played the most. So here goes:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. I respect that.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game competitive game, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the time or headspace 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.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play at any hour. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a wave of criticism when I mentioned how a technical issue 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 appreciated 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 "missing the point". I present that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is 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 don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify 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 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 button mashing or doomscrolling, but it aches like anything 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 make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.