Our Household Unofficial Gaming of the Year Awards for The Past Year

Alright, how was 2025 in your family? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on online? Packed with academic success for the kids and elaborate costume birthday parties for the adults? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only sporadic enjoyable moments? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become AI-generated virtual entities with perfect dental work?

I have gathered everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the paramount thing in a calendar year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

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

"Digitally?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. Point taken.

Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character 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 of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive 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 remarkably well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Game I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

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

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a bit of backlash 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 production values – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that as written, because I respect the passion, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I get that it is beautiful and is ideal 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 many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and concerning.

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 bellowed from the doorstep at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or endless scrolling, but it aches like hellfire 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 make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.