This Household Alternative Game of the Year Roundup for 2025

So, how did you experience 2025 in your household? Did it seem truly wonderful as you pretended on social media? Overflowing with A-grades for the children and wild dress-up birthday parties for the adults? Or perhaps it was a swamp of letdowns with only occasional entertaining flotsam? Could any part be actually real, or are we all digitally altered virtual entities with celebrity smiles?

I have gathered the family for a chat, ready or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:

Title First Daughter Played the Most

Horizon Zero Dawn

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"This isn't my personal ranking."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In real life."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. Fair enough.

Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Release the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at 60% completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, 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 2025

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is a machine. Superior than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted deck building 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 endlessly add to their range is you wake up one day and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the off. I wish I could deal with my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused 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 deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Title That Saved My Soul When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s sleeper hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a bit of backlash when I critiqued 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 overall polish – which I recognized even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I mention that as written, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I understand that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my adulthood. I was around back when many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both morally indefensible and concerning.

Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Foolish 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. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it is sore like hellfire 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.