🔗 Share this article The Household Personal Game of the Year List for This Year Well, what did you think of the past year in your home? Was it entirely positive as you pretended on social media? Full of academic success for your offspring and elaborate dress-up celebrations for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only sporadic enjoyable flotsam? Is any of this authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered AI slop beings with celebrity teeth? I've assembled my thoughts together, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado: Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most Horizon Zero Dawn "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "It’s not my games column." In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate 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. Point taken. 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 spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world. Title the Partner Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins. Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever 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 build character so he can grow up and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Even better 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 insanely well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its constantly evolving 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 have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could deal with my problems so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just lacked the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after family time. Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It Balatro I know Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it. Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I received a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I appreciated even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an astute judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a brutally difficult 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 perfection if you are into the genre, 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 my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Debate between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious 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 sound good names called from the back door 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 button mashing or endless scrolling, but it is sore like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.