🔗 Share this article This Household Personal Gaming of the Year Roundup for This Year Alright, how was 2025 in your home? Could it be described as truly wonderful as one might claim on social media? Full of A-grades for the children and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the adults? Maybe it felt like a sea of frustration with only sporadic entertaining highlights? Could any part be authentic, or are we all seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect teeth? I've corralled everyone for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the most important thing in twelve months: which video games we enjoyed the most. Let's get started: Game First Daughter Played the Most Horizon Zero Dawn "Why can't you pick just one?" "It’s not my games column." Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare." "In the game?" "In reality." Title Middle Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. I respect that. Title Third Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game. Game the Spouse Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins. Game I Found Amusing That 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 complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The worst thing about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted. Title I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life. Game I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition) Blue Prince I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after family time. Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It Balatro I know Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I endured a wave of criticism when I mentioned how a technical issue 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 valued 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 respect the passion, and they are obviously an sharp judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I get that it has great art and is ideal if you are into challenging games, 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'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Close call between questionable alliances that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify and repugnant. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Stupid 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. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it burns 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 wait patiently until the heat death of the universe. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.