🔗 Share this article This Dominik Diamond Alternative Gaming of the Year Roundup for 2025 Alright, how did you experience the past year in your family? Was it entirely positive as people post on online? Packed with academic success for the children and elaborate costume celebrations for the adults? Or was it a ocean of letdowns with only rare entertaining highlights? Is any of this authentic, or have we all become digitally altered AI slop beings with perfect dental work? I've assembled everyone together, ready or not, to discuss the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we played the most. Without further ado: Game Eldest Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "This isn't my personal ranking." In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare." "Virtually?" "In real life." Title Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I even asked. Fair enough. Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She's attempting to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where the Shark has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life. Title the Spouse Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins. Release 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 classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to build character so he can grow up and play games for grownups. 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 a machine. Superior than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap No other game compared to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted strategy wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The downside about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and understand it is all just an attempt to lure you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it was deleted. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Excellent reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my problems so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition) Blue Prince I refuse to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on 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 wee small hours after appropriate hospitality. Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it. Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I received a wave of criticism when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game damaged 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 reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I present that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, 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 punishingly tough non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". What a joy. I get that it has great art and is flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things. Biggest Gaming News of 2025 Close call between business deals that caused concern, and premium pricing. 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 called from the garden at tea 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 doomscrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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.