🔗 Share this article The Dominik Diamond Personal Game of the Year Roundup for The Past Year Well, what did you think of 2025 in your household? Could it be described as truly wonderful as one might claim on online? Packed with A-grades for your offspring and riotous themed fancy dress celebrations for the adults? Or perhaps it was a swamp of disappointment with only rare entertaining highlights? Could any part be actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect smiles? I've corralled the family for a chat, willing or unwilling, to debate the paramount thing in any given year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. So here goes: Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "It’s not my definitive list." Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare." "Digitally?" "In the actual world." Release Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. Point taken. Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life. Game the Spouse Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at 60% 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 unscrew pins. Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Any time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted card game competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The downside about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity 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 Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my problems so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after evening drinks. Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It Balatro I know Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader 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 appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a brutally difficult exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I get that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Toss-up between corporate partnerships that caused concern, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and concerning. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names called from the garden at tea time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it burns like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 wait patiently until the end of days. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.