🔗 Share this article The Diamond Family Unofficial Video Game of the Year List for The Past Year Well, what did you think of 2025 in your household? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on Facebook? Overflowing with academic success for your offspring and wild dress-up birthday parties for the grownups? Or was it a sea of disappointment with only sporadic fun flotsam? Could any part be authentic, or have we all become digitally altered synthetic personas with perfect teeth? I've assembled my thoughts together, ready or not, to discuss the paramount thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado: Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "You can't expect my definitive list." Meanwhile, on mobile, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare." "Virtually?" "In real life." Game Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Point taken. Release Third 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 her avatar has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has in real life. Title the Spouse Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at 60% completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins. Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Every 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 objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Notable Gaming Family Member 2025 Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. Even better than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted strategy digital pastime, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Title I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Title I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Glorious reinvention of a classic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life. Game I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition) Blue Prince I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique 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 early morning after appropriate hospitality. Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It Balatro I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is incredible. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a wonderful concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play any time. Add in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator 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 bit of backlash when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game soured 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 slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that in the exact way, because I respect the passion, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me 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 perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my mid-fifties. I was around back when most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Debate between corporate partnerships that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and unpleasant. Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the garden 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 doomscrolling, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 heat death of the universe. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.