🔗 Share this article Our Diamond Family Personal Video Game of the Year Roundup for 2025 Alright, what did you think of the past year in your home? Could it be described as entirely positive as people post on online? Full of academic success for your offspring and riotous themed fancy dress gatherings for the grownups? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only rare entertaining highlights? Is any of this genuine, or are we all seven-fingered AI slop beings with perfect smiles? I've corralled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: what titles we played the most. Let's get started: Title First Daughter Played the Most Horizon Zero Dawn "Can’t you pick just one?" "You can't expect my personal ranking." Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare." "Digitally?" "In reality." Release Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Point taken. Title 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 went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game. Title the Partner Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year 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 Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can be a man and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy 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 constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life. Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after family time. Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It Balatro I know Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it. Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I endured a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized 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 present that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, and she is obviously an astute judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I get that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into the genre, 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 so was many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Close call between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and concerning. 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 shouted from the back door at bedtime. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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.