🔗 Share this article The Household Unofficial Video Game of the Year Awards for This Year Well, how did you experience the past year in your household? Was it truly wonderful as you pretended on Facebook? Full of top marks for your offspring and riotous dress-up gatherings for the parents? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only occasional fun flotsam? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered AI slop beings with perfect dental work? I've corralled everyone together, ready or not, to reflect on the most important thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. Let's get started: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "This isn't my personal ranking." Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare." "Virtually?" "In the actual world." Title Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Point taken. Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard Her goal is to get into drama 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 thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game. 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 marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins. Title 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 classic comedy bit. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can mature 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 unstoppable. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted card game competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it went into the bin. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my demons 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 didn’t have 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 appropriate hospitality. Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play at any hour. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a technical issue 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 recognized even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I understand that it looks ace and is flawless if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when all 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 Scandal of 2025 Close call between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and concerning. 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 bellowed 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 video games or doomscrolling, but it aches like hellfire 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 cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.