🔗 Share this article Our Dominik Diamond Alternative Gaming of the Year Awards for The Past Year Alright, how was the past year in your family? Could it be described as entirely positive as one might claim on social media? Overflowing with top marks for the kids and wild dress-up celebrations for the adults? Or was it a sea of frustration with only rare fun highlights? Is any of this actually real, or is everyone now seven-fingered virtual entities with celebrity teeth? I've assembled my thoughts for a reflection, whether they wanted to or not, to debate the most important thing in a calendar year: what titles we enjoyed the most. So here goes: Release Oldest Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Why can't you pick just one?" "It’s not my games column." On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare." "Digitally?" "In reality." Game Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I have no interest in games on my phone." He seemed insulted that the question was posed. I respect that. Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her eldest sister has outside the game. Release the Wife Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract 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 set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character so he can grow up and play games for grownups. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship. Most Impressive Gaming Family Member of the Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime. Game I Played the Most Marvel Snap No other game compared to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its ever-changing 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 eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven 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 classic franchise. Immersive atmosphere from the start. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition) Blue Prince I refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it required earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after appropriate hospitality. Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It Balatro I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I literally would play constantly. Combine that with the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true high-water mark of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it. Title I Got the Most Flak For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I endured a wave of criticism when I critiqued how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a colossal gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that verbatim, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an astute judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Sure. Give me a brutally difficult non-linear thing and provide little guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I get that it looks ace and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many less comfortable things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Toss-up between business deals that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious 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 be unique names shouted from the garden at bedtime. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or phone use, but it is sore like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the 90s. 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 end of days. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.