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So, how did you experience this year in your home? Could it be described as truly wonderful as people post on online? Full of top marks for the kids and wild costume gatherings for the adults? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only sporadic entertaining flotsam? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with unrealistic dental work?

I've assembled my thoughts for a chat, ready or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in any given year: which video games we played the most. Let's get started:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Point taken.

Title 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 immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful 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 started 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 extract pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its regularly updated 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 have a moment of clarity and understand 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

Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my issues 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 lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after evening drinks.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge 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 wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a glitch in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after slogging through 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 "poorly reasoned". I share that verbatim, 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 brutally difficult non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between business deals that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called from the doorstep at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, but it burns 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.