🔗 Share this article The Household Personal Game of the Year Roundup for 2025 Alright, how was 2025 in your household? Did it seem all as good as one might claim on online? Overflowing with A-grades for the children and riotous costume celebrations for the parents? Or was it a swamp of frustration with only sporadic fun flotsam? Is any of this authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered AI slop beings with celebrity teeth? I've corralled my thoughts for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in twelve months: which video games we enjoyed the most. Let's get started: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Horizon Zero Dawn "Can’t you pick just one?" "You can't expect my games column." Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare." "Digitally?" "In real life." Game Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. I respect that. Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She is trying to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in 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 older sibling has outside the game. Title the Wife Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She began the year at 60% completion and ended it 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 remove pins. Release 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 classic comedy bit. When he complains, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The catch about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Title I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. 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'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after family time. Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play any time. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I received a bit of backlash 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 art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I understand that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Close call between questionable alliances 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 make interesting 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 console gaming or endless scrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected back in the past. 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.