This Household Personal Video Game of the Year Roundup for The Past Year
Alright, how was the past year in your home? Could it be described as truly wonderful as you pretended on Facebook? Full of A-grades for the kids and elaborate dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a sea of frustration with only rare enjoyable highlights? Is any of this genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered AI slop beings with unrealistic smiles?
I have gathered my thoughts for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: which video games we enjoyed the most. So here goes:
Game First Daughter Played the Most
Horizon Zero Dawn
"Can’t you pick just one?"
"It’s not my games column."
On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare."
"Digitally?"
"In reality."
Release Middle Son Played the Most
Overwatch
"I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted 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 immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.
Release the Partner Played the Most
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.
Title 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 relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up 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
She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.
Title I Played the Most
Marvel Snap
Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.
Title I Wish I Had Played Less
Marvel Snap
The catch about games that frequently update their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it went into the bin.
Title I Wish I Had Played More
Doom: The Dark Ages
Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.
Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)
Blue Prince
I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after family time.
Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It
Balatro
I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite peak 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 Flak For Criticising
Outer Worlds 2
I endured a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a glitch 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 appreciated even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that as written, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an excellent 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 provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I get that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many 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
Toss-up between business deals that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.
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 shouted 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 button mashing or phone use, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 cows come home.
Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036
The Witcher 4.
