🔗 Share this article The Dominik Diamond Personal Video Game of the Year Awards for This Year Well, how was this year in your family? Could it be described as all as good as people post on social media? Full of academic success for your offspring and wild themed fancy dress celebrations for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a swamp of frustration with only occasional enjoyable flotsam? Is any of this actually real, or have we all become AI-generated virtual entities with perfect smiles? I've corralled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the crucial thing in twelve months: what titles we enjoyed the most. Let's get started: Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "You can't expect my games column." On her phone, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare." "In the game?" "In reality." Release Middle Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. Fair enough. Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She is trying to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game. 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 mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins. Release I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am doing this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship. Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 She was the clear winner 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 exceptionally well-crafted card game digital pastime, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The catch about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Glorious reinvention of a legendary franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition) Blue Prince I refuse to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With relatives staying 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'm aware Balatro was last year's sleeper hit, but I was late to it. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I endured a bit of backlash when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of overall polish – which I valued even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an astute judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Alright. Give me a punishingly tough exploration-focused thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I understand that it is beautiful and is flawless if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Toss-up between business deals that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant. Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names bellowed from the garden at bedtime. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or phone use, but it is sore like anything 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 end of days. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.