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So, how was the past year in your family? Could it be described as entirely positive as you pretended on online? Packed with top marks for your offspring and elaborate dress-up gatherings for the adults? Or perhaps it was a ocean of disappointment with only occasional entertaining flotsam? Could any part be genuine, or are we all digitally altered synthetic personas with unrealistic dental work?

I have gathered everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in any given year: which video games we played the most. So here goes:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In the actual world."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage 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 took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

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 long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is a machine. Even better than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and realise it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven 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. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on 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 evening drinks.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I experienced a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after experiencing 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I share that as written, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I get that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible 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 be unique names shouted from the back door at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 stretch time until the end of days.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.