This Household Unofficial Video Game of the Year List for 2025

Alright, how did you experience this year in your family? Could it be described as truly wonderful as you pretended on Facebook? Packed with top marks for the kids and riotous dress-up celebrations for the adults? Or was it a ocean of letdowns with only sporadic fun moments? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered AI slop beings with celebrity teeth?

I've assembled my thoughts together, ready or not, to reflect on the most important thing in any given year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"This isn't my games column."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Title Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. Point taken.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Title the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner 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

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that frequently update their range is you eventually realize and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my demons so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused 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 relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received 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 massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that as written, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I get that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between business deals that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and concerning.

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 bellowed from the garden 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 is sore like anything 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 cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.