🔗 Share this article This Diamond Family Personal Video Game of the Year Roundup for 2025 Well, what did you think of 2025 in your family? Could it be described as entirely positive as people post on Facebook? Full of A-grades for your offspring and wild themed fancy dress gatherings for the parents? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only occasional enjoyable moments? Could any part be genuine, or are we all seven-fingered AI slop beings with unrealistic teeth? I've corralled everyone for a chat, ready or not, to debate the crucial thing in a calendar year: what titles we played the most. So here goes: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Can’t you pick just one?" "This isn't my personal ranking." On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare." "Digitally?" "In the actual world." Release Middle Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Fair enough. Game 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 successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in real life. Game the Wife Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins. Release I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Any time 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 doing this to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 There was no contest for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game competitive game, with its constantly evolving 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 understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with 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 Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my demons so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality. Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the powers behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it. Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I endured a bit of backlash when I mentioned how a glitch 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 contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I acknowledge that it has great art and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Toss-up between business deals that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and concerning. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the back door at dinner time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it is sore like anything 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.