Our Diamond Family Unofficial Gaming of the Year List for The Past Year
Well, what did you think of 2025 in your household? Could it be described as entirely positive as one might claim on Facebook? Full of top marks for your offspring and elaborate dress-up gatherings for the parents? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only occasional enjoyable moments? Could any part be actually real, or is everyone now digitally altered synthetic personas with unrealistic smiles?
I've assembled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: which video games we played the most. Let's get started:
Game First Daughter Played the Most
Pikmin
"Is it impossible to pick just one?"
"This isn't my definitive list."
Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare."
"Virtually?"
"In reality."
Title Second Son Played the Most
Overwatch
"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. I respect that.
Release Third Daughter Played the Most
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 achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.
Title the Wife Played the Most
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
She began the year at 60% completion and finished the year 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 remove pins.
Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing
Minecraft
Whenever 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 engaging in this to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.
Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year
Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024
It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.
Game I Played the Most
Marvel Snap
No other game compared to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its constantly evolving 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 realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.
Title I Wish I Had Played More
Doom: The Dark Ages
Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.
Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)
Blue Prince
I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after evening drinks.
Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It
Balatro
I acknowledge Balatro was last year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play at any hour. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.
Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising
Outer Worlds 2
I endured 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 colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after experiencing 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 share that as written, 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
Fine. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I acknowledge that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.
Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025
Close call between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.
Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More
Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names called from the garden at dinner time.
Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming
Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the 90s.
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.
