🔗 Share this article The Dominik Diamond Unofficial Game of the Year Awards for The Past Year So, how did you experience the past year in your family? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on Facebook? Packed with A-grades for your offspring and elaborate dress-up gatherings for the adults? Maybe it felt like a swamp of frustration with only sporadic fun flotsam? And was any of it genuine, or have we all become seven-fingered synthetic personas with perfect smiles? I have gathered everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the crucial thing in twelve months: what titles we enjoyed the most. Without further ado: Title First Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Why can't you pick just one?" "It’s not my definitive list." In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for decent healthcare." "Virtually?" "In reality." Title Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. Fair enough. Title 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 spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a successful utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game. Title the Wife Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She began the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins. Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Any time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it was deleted. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Stunning reinvention of a iconic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life. Game 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 time or headspace to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the early morning after evening drinks. Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It Balatro I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I would happily play constantly. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it. Title I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a minor pile-on when I critiqued how a technical issue in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he is obviously an sharp judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". What a joy. I get that it looks ace and is perfection if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most 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 Scandal of 2025 Close call between business deals that raised eyebrows, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and repugnant. 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. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of console gaming or endless scrolling, but it aches like anything 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 cows come home. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.