🔗 Share this article This Diamond Family Unofficial Gaming of the Year List for The Past Year Alright, how did you experience 2025 in your home? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on online? Overflowing with A-grades for the kids and wild costume birthday parties for the parents? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only occasional fun highlights? Could any part be actually real, or is everyone now AI-generated synthetic personas with perfect dental work? I have gathered the family for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in twelve months: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Why can't you pick just one?" "You can't expect my personal ranking." On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare." "In the game?" "In reality." Title Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I even asked. I respect that. Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a thriving utopia with far 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 finished the year at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins. Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can mature and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship. Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap No other game compared to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted card game competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Title I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after evening drinks. Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I received a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I appreciated even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and they are obviously an astute judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I get that it looks ace 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 most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Close call between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called 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 console gaming or doomscrolling, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 wait patiently until the end of days. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.