🔗 Share this article This Diamond Family Unofficial Video Game of the Year List for The Past Year So, how did you experience the past year in your home? Could it be described as truly wonderful as you pretended on online? Full of top marks for your offspring and wild dress-up gatherings for the parents? Or perhaps it was a sea of letdowns with only rare fun moments? Could any part be authentic, or are we all AI-generated synthetic personas with unrealistic dental work? I have gathered the family for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the most important thing in a calendar year: which releases we played the most. So here goes: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Why can't you pick just one?" "You can't expect my games column." Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare." "In the game?" "In the actual world." Game Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. Fair enough. Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She is trying to get into drama school, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life. Game the Wife Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She began 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 remove pins. Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can be a man and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The worst thing about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and realise it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the mental bandwidth to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the late night after family time. Game That Saved My Soul 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. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it. Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I endured a wave of criticism when I mentioned how a glitch in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an astute judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I understand that it is beautiful and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things. Biggest Gaming News of 2025 Debate between business deals that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and concerning. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names shouted from the garden at dinner time. 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 phone use, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 heat death of the universe. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.