🔗 Share this article The Household Unofficial Gaming of the Year List for This Year Well, what did you think of this year in your home? Was it entirely positive as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with A-grades for your offspring and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the grownups? Or was it a ocean of letdowns with only occasional enjoyable highlights? Is any of this actually real, or is everyone now seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect teeth? I've corralled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. Without further ado: Game First Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Can’t you pick just one?" "It’s not my definitive list." In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare." "Virtually?" "In the actual world." Title Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. I respect that. Release Third Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game. Release the Wife 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 long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins. Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can mature and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games 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 remarkably well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The worst thing about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Title I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my demons so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after evening drinks. Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it. Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a glitch in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated 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 "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an astute judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. 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 outdated things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Toss-up between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant. Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the doorstep at dinner time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or doomscrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 stretch time until the cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.