🔗 Share this article The Diamond Family Alternative Game of the Year Awards for This Year Well, how was the past year in your family? Did it seem truly wonderful as one might claim on Facebook? Full of academic success for your offspring and elaborate dress-up celebrations for the adults? Maybe it felt like a swamp of disappointment with only sporadic enjoyable flotsam? And was any of it authentic, or is everyone now digitally altered synthetic personas with celebrity dental work? I have gathered everyone for a chat, whether they wanted to or not, to discuss the paramount thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. So here goes: Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most Pikmin "Is it impossible to pick just one?" "This isn't my personal ranking." On her phone, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare." "Digitally?" "In reality." Game Second Son Played the Most Overwatch "I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I even asked. I respect that. Title Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world. Title the Wife Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. It’s a marathon not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins. Title I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to build character so he can grow up and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. Even better than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this remarkably 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 worst thing about games that constantly evolve their range is you eventually realize and see it is all just an attempt to lure you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Title I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. I wish I could dispatch my issues so effectively in real life. Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition) Blue Prince I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just didn’t have the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after family time. Game That Saved My Soul When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a fantastic concept, but the abilities behind the different special cards are so creative it has become a game I could play constantly. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute pinnacle of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it. Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I experienced a bit of backlash when I mentioned 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 overall polish – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I mention that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character. Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Sure. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I acknowledge that it is beautiful 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 most games were like this, and my patience is gone. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things. Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025 Close call between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible 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 dinner time. Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming Right Thumb Joint. No joke. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or doomscrolling, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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.