This Household Alternative Game of the Year List for This Year
So, how was 2025 in your family? Did it seem entirely positive as you pretended on online? Full of A-grades for the kids and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the adults? Or was it a sea of disappointment with only occasional entertaining flotsam? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered virtual entities with celebrity smiles?
I've assembled everyone for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the crucial thing in a calendar year: which releases we played the most. So here goes:
Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most
Just Dance 2024
"Why can't you pick just one?"
"It’s not my games column."
On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare."
"Digitally?"
"In reality."
Release Second Son Played the Most
Overwatch
"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Fair enough.
Game Third Daughter Played the Most
Resident Evil Biohazard
She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, 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 successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.
Release the Partner Played the Most
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.
Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing
Minecraft
Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.
Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year
Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024
It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days 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 digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.
Title I Wish I Had Played Less
Marvel Snap
The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you wake up one day and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted.
Title I Wish I Had Played More
Doom: The Dark Ages
Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.
Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)
Blue Prince
I'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on 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 early morning after evening drinks.
Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It
Balatro
I'm aware Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play at any hour. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark 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 Criticism For Criticising
Outer Worlds 2
I endured a wave of criticism when I wrote about how a glitch in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.
Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Alright. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I get that it has great art and is flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.
Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025
Toss-up between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.
Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More
Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called from the doorstep at bedtime.
Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming
Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or endless scrolling, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 stretch time until the cows come home.
Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036
The Witcher 4.
