Well, how did you experience 2025 in your family? Was it truly wonderful as you pretended on social media? Full of top marks for your offspring and wild dress-up gatherings for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of disappointment with only sporadic fun highlights? And was any of it actually real, or are we all digitally altered virtual entities with perfect smiles?
I've corralled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the crucial thing in any given year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:
Just Dance 2024
"Can’t you pick just one?"
"You can't expect my definitive list."
Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."
"In the game?"
"In real life."
Overwatch
"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. Point taken.
Resident Evil Biohazard
She's attempting to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has in the real world.
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.
Minecraft
Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.
Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024
She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.
Marvel Snap
Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.
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 lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.
Doom: The Dark Ages
Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.
Blue Prince
I decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after appropriate hospitality.
Balatro
I know Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.
Outer Worlds 2
I experienced a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that as written, because I respect the passion, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Sure. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I get that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.
Toss-up between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.
Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names shouted from the garden at bedtime.
Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or endless scrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the 90s.
Grand Theft Auto VI.
And it will come out in 2026, even if we have to wait patiently until the cows come home.
The Witcher 4.
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