🔗 Share this article Our Household Personal Video Game of the Year Awards for This Year Alright, how was this year in your home? Was it all as good as people post on online? Full of A-grades for the kids and wild dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of letdowns with only occasional fun moments? And was any of it actually real, or is everyone now digitally altered AI slop beings with unrealistic smiles? I've assembled the family for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado: Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "You can't expect my games column." Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare." "Digitally?" "In reality." Title Middle Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play 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 drama school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game. Release the Spouse Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. 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. Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship. Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 There was no contest for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap No other game compared to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted card game competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The worst thing about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So love turned to hate 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 legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my issues so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after family time. Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It Balatro I acknowledge Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator 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 critiqued how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after playing 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I share that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Sure. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I get that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible 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 be unique names bellowed 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 burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 wait patiently until the cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.