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Alright, how was the past year in your home? Was it all as good as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with top marks for the children and elaborate costume birthday parties for the parents? Or was it a sea of letdowns with only rare fun highlights? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered virtual entities with celebrity dental work?

I've assembled my thoughts together, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: what titles we played the most. So here goes:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. Point taken.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began 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 unscrew pins.

Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, 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 Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. 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 exceptionally 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 catch about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash 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 production values – which I recognized 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 "poorly reasoned". I mention that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I get that it has great art and is ideal if you are into this kind of thing, 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 questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. 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 be unique names bellowed from the back door 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 video games or phone use, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 stretch time until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.