🔗 Share this article The Household Unofficial Gaming of the Year List for The Past Year So, how was the past year in your household? Did it seem all as good as one might claim on online? Overflowing with A-grades for the kids and wild costume gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a ocean of disappointment with only rare entertaining highlights? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic dental work? I've corralled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the most important thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. So here goes: Title First Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "You can't expect my personal ranking." Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare." "Digitally?" "In reality." Release Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. Fair enough. Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She is trying to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life. Game the Partner Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins. Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Any time 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 behaving this way to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for grownups. This defines our 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. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated 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 wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life. Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I'm unwilling 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 will be playing this in the early morning after family time. Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It Balatro I know Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite 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 Backlash For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a bastard-hard Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I understand that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming News of 2025 Toss-up between business deals that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the back door at dinner time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it is sore like hellfire 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.