🔗 Share this article This Dominik Diamond Personal Video Game of the Year List for The Past Year Alright, how did you experience the past year in your family? Did it seem truly wonderful as you pretended on online? Full of academic success for your offspring and riotous dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a swamp of letdowns with only sporadic fun flotsam? Could any part be actually real, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with celebrity teeth? I've corralled the family for a chat, ready or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we enjoyed the most. So here goes: Game First Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "You can't expect my games column." In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare." "In the game?" "In reality." Release Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. I respect that. Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game. Release the Partner 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 unscrew pins. Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship. Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my demons so effectively in real life. Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after evening drinks. Title That Kept Me Sane 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 every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I would happily play any time. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I received a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I appreciated even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Debate between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and concerning. Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names called from the doorstep at dinner time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it is sore like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.