🔗 Share this article This Household Alternative Gaming of the Year Awards for 2025 So, how was 2025 in your household? Could it be described as all as good as you pretended on online? Full of A-grades for the kids and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the parents? Or perhaps it was a ocean of disappointment with only occasional entertaining highlights? Could any part be genuine, or are we all digitally altered virtual entities with celebrity teeth? I've assembled my thoughts for a chat, ready or not, to debate the paramount thing in any given year: which releases we enjoyed the most. Let's get started: Title First Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "This isn't my personal ranking." In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare." "In the game?" "In the actual world." Title Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Fair enough. Game Third 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 went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life. Game the Partner 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 long haul not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins. Title 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 complains, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can mature and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The worst thing about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day 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 Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could deal with my issues so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after evening drinks. Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It Balatro I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's sleeper hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I could play any time. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it. Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a minor pile-on 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 production values – which I valued 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 "poorly reasoned". I share that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I understand that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Close call 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 sound good names shouted 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 endless scrolling, but it aches like hellfire 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 make 2026 last until the cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.