Our Dominik Diamond Personal Game of the Year Roundup for This Year
So, how was 2025 in your family? Did it seem truly wonderful as you pretended on Facebook? Overflowing with A-grades for the kids and wild dress-up celebrations for the parents? Or was it a ocean of frustration with only sporadic entertaining flotsam? Is any of this actually real, or are we all seven-fingered synthetic personas with unrealistic smiles?
I've assembled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:
Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most
Pikmin
"Can’t you pick just one?"
"It’s not my games column."
On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."
"Digitally?"
"In reality."
Game Middle Son Played the Most
Overwatch
"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. I respect that.
Title Third Daughter Played the Most
Resident Evil Biohazard
She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game.
Game the Spouse Played the Most
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.
Title I Found Amusing That 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 relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for mature audiences. It's a classic 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 incredible. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.
Game I Played the Most
Marvel Snap
Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy digital pastime, 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 eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.
Game I Wish I Had Played More
Doom: The Dark Ages
Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate 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 lacked the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I plan to dive into this in the wee small hours after appropriate hospitality.
Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It
Balatro
I know Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so creative 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 dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.
Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising
Outer Worlds 2
I endured a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a glitch in another game ruined 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 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 "missing the point". 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
Fine. Give me a bastard-hard non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when many games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.
Biggest Gaming News of 2025
Toss-up between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify and repugnant.
Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More
Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names called from the back door 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 the mines of sulphur 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 wait patiently until the cows come home.
Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036
The Witcher 4.