🔗 Share this article The Dominik Diamond Personal Video Game of the Year Roundup for The Past Year Well, what did you think of 2025 in your home? Could it be described as entirely positive as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with top marks for your offspring and wild costume birthday parties for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of letdowns with only occasional fun highlights? And was any of it genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered AI slop beings with celebrity dental work? I've corralled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in any given year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Horizon Zero Dawn "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "It’s not my personal ranking." Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare." "In the game?" "In the actual world." Release Middle Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. Point taken. Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in real life. Release the Wife Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She began the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. She's in it for the long run 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 Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime. Title I Played the Most 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. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven 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 classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I'm unwilling 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 wee small hours after evening drinks. Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it. Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I received a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I get that it has great art and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things. Biggest Gaming News of 2025 Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and repugnant. Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names called from the garden at tea time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or phone use, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 make 2026 last until the heat death of the universe. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.