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So, what did you think of this year in your family? Did it seem entirely positive as you pretended on online? Packed with A-grades for the children and riotous costume birthday parties for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a ocean of frustration with only sporadic enjoyable moments? Could any part be actually real, or are we all digitally altered AI slop beings with perfect dental work?

I've assembled the family for a reflection, ready or not, to discuss the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we played the most. Let's get started:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

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

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. Fair enough.

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Game 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.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that endlessly add to 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 love turned to hate halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious 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 (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I know Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a glitch in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I appreciated even more after playing 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 present that as written, because I respect the passion, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I understand that it has great art and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when all 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 outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called from the back door 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 video games or doomscrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 make 2026 last until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.