🔗 Share this article Our Household Personal Game of the Year List for The Past Year So, how was this year in your home? Could it be described as truly wonderful as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with A-grades for the kids and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the parents? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only rare entertaining moments? Could any part be actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity smiles? I've assembled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. Let's get started: Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most Horizon Zero Dawn "Can’t you pick just one?" "This isn't my games column." In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare." "Virtually?" "In real life." Title Middle Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Fair enough. Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She's attempting to get into drama 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 blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game. Title the Partner Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins. Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Every time 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 behaving this way to build character so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship. Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with 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 Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality. Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It Balatro I know Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space 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 wave of criticism when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after experiencing 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 mention that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Debate between business deals that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and concerning. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called 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 doomscrolling, but it is sore like anything 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 end of days. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.