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So, what did you think of the past year in your household? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Full of academic success for the children and elaborate costume celebrations for the parents? Or was it a swamp of frustration with only occasional fun flotsam? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered AI slop beings with celebrity smiles?

I have gathered my thoughts together, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: what titles we played the most. Without further ado:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate decent healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Point taken.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length 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.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About 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 objects, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its ever-changing 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 lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

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

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the time or headspace to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play constantly. 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 received a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a glitch 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 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 "missing the point". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent 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 leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible 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 doorstep 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 burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.