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Well, how did you experience the past year in your family? Was it entirely positive as people post on Facebook? Full of top marks for the children and wild costume birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of letdowns with only occasional fun moments? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now seven-fingered virtual entities with celebrity teeth?

I've assembled my thoughts for a chat, ready or not, to debate the crucial thing in any given year: which video games we enjoyed the most. So here goes:

Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In real life."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. I respect that.

Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% 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 unscrew pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for grownups. 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 incredible. Even better than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Title 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 constantly evolving 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 eventually realize and see 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.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different wild 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 definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he 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". Great fun. I understand that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names shouted from the garden at tea time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the past.

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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.