🔗 Share this article Our Diamond Family Alternative Game of the Year Awards for This Year So, how was this year in your home? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Overflowing with top marks for the children and riotous dress-up celebrations for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a swamp of frustration with only occasional fun moments? Could any part be authentic, or is everyone now AI-generated virtual entities with perfect teeth? I have gathered everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to reflect on the most important thing in twelve months: which video games we played the most. So here goes: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Horizon Zero Dawn "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "You can't expect my games column." On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare." "Virtually?" "In real life." Release Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Point taken. Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world. Title 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. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins. Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix 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 exceptionally well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Title I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life. Game I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after family time. 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 remarkable. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Combine that with the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it. Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after experiencing 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 "poorly reasoned". I present that as written, 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 Sure. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I get that it has great art and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, 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 my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Toss-up between questionable alliances that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and repugnant. Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the garden at dinner time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or phone use, but it burns like the mines of sulphur 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 cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.