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Alright, how did you experience this year in your home? Did it seem truly wonderful as you pretended on social media? Full of top marks for the children and wild costume birthday parties for the adults? Or perhaps it was a ocean of letdowns with only occasional fun highlights? Is any of this actually real, or is everyone now seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic teeth?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the crucial thing in any given year: which video games we played the most. Let's get started:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Title Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Title the Partner Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every 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 complains, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can mature and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 remarkably well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The worst thing about games that frequently update 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 was deleted.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could deal with my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after family time.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a technical issue in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan 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 "missing the point". I mention that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a bastard-hard Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I acknowledge that it has great art and is flawless if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Close call between business deals that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and unpleasant.

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 bedtime.

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 phone use, but it aches like anything 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.