Our Diamond Family Alternative Game of the Year Roundup for The Past Year
So, how did you experience 2025 in your family? Was it truly wonderful as people post on Facebook? Packed with top marks for the kids and wild costume gatherings for the parents? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only rare fun flotsam? Is any of this actually real, or are we all AI-generated AI slop beings with unrealistic teeth?
I've corralled the family together, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the most important thing in any given year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:
Game First Daughter Played the Most
Just Dance 2024
"Canât you pick just one?"
"This isn't my definitive list."
In the mobile realm, sheâs been playing Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare."
"Virtually?"
"In reality."
Game Second Son Played the Most
Overwatch
"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. Point taken.
Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most
Resident Evil Biohazard
She is trying to get into acting, but when she wasnât singing, she was playing 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 eldest sister has in the real world.
Game the Wife Played the Most
Crash Bandicoot: Itâs About Time
She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at 82%. Itâs a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins.
Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing
Minecraft
Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can mature and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.
Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025
Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024
There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. More impressive 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 card game wizardâs 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 have a moment of clarity and realise 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.
Game I Wish I Had Played More
Doom: The Dark Ages
Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my demons so effectively in real life.
Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)
Blue Prince
I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after family time.
Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It
Balatro
I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an definite pinnacle 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 Backlash For Criticising
Outer Worlds 2
I endured a wave of criticism when I mentioned 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 art, sound, acting â which I valued even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I mention that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.
Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didnât Get
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Sure. Give me a bastard-hard Metroidvania-esque thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". How delightful. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and Iâve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things.
Biggest Gaming News of 2025
Close call between business deals that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify and concerning.
Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More
Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names called from the doorstep at bedtime.
Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming
Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I donât know if itâs because of console gaming or doomscrolling, but it is sore 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.
Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036
The Witcher 4.
