🔗 Share this article The Diamond Family Personal Gaming of the Year Awards for 2025 Alright, how was 2025 in your family? Did it seem truly wonderful as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with academic success for the children and wild dress-up gatherings for the adults? Or was it a swamp of disappointment with only rare enjoyable highlights? And was any of it authentic, or have we all become AI-generated synthetic personas with celebrity teeth? I've corralled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado: Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "You can't expect my personal ranking." In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for reasonable healthcare." "Digitally?" "In real life." Title 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 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 immersed in Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world. Game the Partner Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins. Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This 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. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The downside 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 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 Stunning reinvention of a classic 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 (Puzzle-Focused Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after family time. Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It Balatro I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Add in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I share that verbatim, because I respect the passion, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a bastard-hard Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I get 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 adulthood. I was around back when all games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Toss-up between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and high launch costs. Both difficult to justify and concerning. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Crazy Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names bellowed from the doorstep at tea 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 endless scrolling, but it is sore 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 cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.