🔗 Share this article This Household Personal Video Game of the Year Awards for The Past Year Alright, how did you experience this year in your household? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on online? Full of top marks for the kids and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only rare enjoyable moments? And was any of it genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity smiles? I have gathered the family for a chat, willing or unwilling, to debate the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Can’t you pick just one?" "It’s not my definitive list." On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare." "Virtually?" "In reality." Game Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. I respect that. Title Third Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game. Title the Partner Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started 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 unscrew pins. Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. 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 remarkably well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The worst thing about games that endlessly add to 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 was deleted. Title I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life. Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality. Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it. Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a minor pile-on 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 appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Sure. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. 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 mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming News of 2025 Debate between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and concerning. Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the doorstep at tea time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or endless scrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 end of days. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.