🔗 Share this article This Diamond Family Alternative Game of the Year List for The Past Year Alright, how was 2025 in your home? Was it truly wonderful as you pretended on online? Packed with top marks for your offspring and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the adults? Maybe it felt like a ocean of frustration with only rare fun flotsam? Could any part be authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered synthetic personas with unrealistic dental work? I've assembled the family for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in any given year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Without further ado: Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "This isn't my games column." In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare." "Digitally?" "In real life." Game Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. I respect that. Release Third Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She is trying to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has in real life. Release the Partner Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins. Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can mature and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close 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 insanely well-crafted card game 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 constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my problems 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 didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after family time. Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It Balatro I acknowledge Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I received a bit of backlash 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 overall polish – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that in the exact way, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Sure. Give me a bastard-hard 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 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 adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Toss-up between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and repugnant. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the doorstep at bedtime. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or phone use, but it burns 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 end of days. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.