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Well, how did you experience the past year in your household? Was it all as good as one might claim on social media? Packed with top marks for your offspring and wild costume birthday parties for the parents? Or perhaps it was a sea of letdowns with only rare enjoyable highlights? And was any of it actually real, or are we all digitally altered AI slop beings with perfect smiles?

I've assembled my thoughts for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in any given year: which releases we played the most. So here goes:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time 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 objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled 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 Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside 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 affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title 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 dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

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

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play at any hour. 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 elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a specific bug 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 playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, and he 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 Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I get that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify 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 be unique names shouted from the garden 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 phone use, but it is sore like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the 90s.

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.