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Alright, how was the past year in your family? Could it be described as entirely positive as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with A-grades for the children and riotous themed fancy dress birthday parties for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a ocean of disappointment with only occasional fun moments? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with celebrity dental work?

I've assembled my thoughts together, willing or unwilling, to discuss the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we played the most. Let's get started:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

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

Release the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it 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 Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I get that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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 shouted 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 video games or doomscrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.