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So, how was this year in your home? Did it seem all as good as people post on social media? Full of academic success for the kids and wild themed fancy dress celebrations for the parents? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only occasional enjoyable moments? Is any of this actually real, or are we all seven-fingered virtual entities with perfect smiles?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In reality."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Point taken.

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 elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

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

Release I Found Amusing That 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 objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after evening drinks.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play constantly. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share 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 brutally difficult non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I understand that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when all games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the doorstep at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or doomscrolling, but it is sore 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 wait patiently until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.