This Household Alternative Gaming of the Year List for This Year

Well, how was this year in your family? Did it seem truly wonderful as people post on Facebook? Packed with academic success for your offspring and riotous costume birthday parties for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of frustration with only occasional fun highlights? And was any of it genuine, or have we all become AI-generated virtual entities with perfect smiles?

I have gathered my thoughts for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: what titles we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my personal ranking."

On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In reality."

Game Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

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

Release 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 spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Title the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started 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 extract pins.

Title I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time 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 behaving this way to prepare him so he can mature 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 incredible. Even better than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

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

Game 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 realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it was deleted.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after family time.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind 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 wave of criticism when I mentioned how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after slogging through 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 "poorly reasoned". I present that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I get that it has great art and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious 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 called from the garden at bedtime.

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 is sore like the mines of sulphur 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.