Well, how was 2025 in your family? Could it be described as entirely positive as you pretended on social media? Full of top marks for the kids and elaborate costume gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of letdowns with only rare fun moments? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic teeth?
I've corralled my thoughts for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the paramount thing in twelve months: what titles we played the most. Let's get started:
Horizon Zero Dawn
"Can’t you pick just one?"
"You can't expect my games column."
On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."
"Digitally?"
"In real life."
Overwatch
"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. Fair enough.
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 spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has in real life.
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 remove pins.
Minecraft
Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.
Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024
It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.
Marvel Snap
Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.
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 trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.
Doom: The Dark Ages
Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could deal with my issues so effectively in real life.
Blue Prince
I'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.
Balatro
I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.
Outer Worlds 2
I endured a bit of backlash 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 thank you to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Sure. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. 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 current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.
Close call between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and repugnant.
Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names shouted from the garden at dinner time.
Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or phone use, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the past.
Grand Theft Auto VI.
And it will come out in 2026, even if we have to make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe.
The Witcher 4.
A seasoned casino enthusiast and gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in slot machine mechanics and strategies.
