🔗 Share this article

Alright, how did you experience 2025 in your family? Was it truly wonderful as people post on online? Overflowing with academic success for your offspring and wild themed fancy dress birthday parties for the adults? Or was it a sea of disappointment with only sporadic fun highlights? And was any of it actually real, or have we all become AI-generated virtual entities with unrealistic dental work?

I have gathered everyone for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we played the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my definitive list."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. Point taken.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.

Game the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and finished the year at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game 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 classic comedy bit. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can grow up 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

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

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

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after family time.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play constantly. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I valued even more after experiencing 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 "missing the point". I share that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I acknowledge that it has great art and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and concerning.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the doorstep at bedtime.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it is sore like hellfire 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 end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.