Our Diamond Family Alternative Gaming of the Year Roundup for This Year
So, how was the past year in your family? Could it be described as all as good as people post on online? Full of top marks for the children and wild dress-up gatherings for the grownups? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only sporadic fun highlights? And was any of it authentic, or are we all AI-generated virtual entities with perfect smiles?
I've assembled everyone together, willing or unwilling, to debate the most important thing in any given year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:
Title First Daughter Played the Most
Pikmin
"Why can't you pick just one?"
"You can't expect my definitive list."
Meanwhile, on mobile, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare."
"In the game?"
"In real life."
Title Middle Son Played the Most
Overwatch
"I refuse to play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Fair enough.
Game Youngest Daughter Played the Most
Resident Evil Biohazard
She is trying to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her character has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has outside the game.
Game the Partner Played the Most
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at eighty-two percent. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.
Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing
Minecraft
Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a persistent critic. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can be a man and play games for grownups. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.
Most Skilled Gaming Family Member 2025
Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024
She was the clear winner for this one. She is unstoppable. Superior 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 insanely well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.
Title I Wish I Had Played Less
Marvel Snap
The catch about games that frequently update their range is you wake up one day and understand it is all just an attempt to suck you into fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So affection became resentment halfway through the year and it was deleted.
Title I Wish I Had Played More
Doom: The Dark Ages
Excellent reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. 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 gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked 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 late night after evening drinks.
Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It
Balatro
I acknowledge Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is exceptional. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play any time. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite high-water mark 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 experienced a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a specific bug in another game soured the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of production values – which I valued even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.
Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Fine. Give me a bastard-hard exploration-focused thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I get that it has great art and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my mid-fifties. 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 less comfortable things.
Biggest Gaming News of 2025
Debate between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both ethically dubious and concerning.
Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More
Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names shouted from the back door at tea time.
Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming
Right Thumb Joint. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of button mashing or phone use, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 cows come home.
Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036
The Witcher 4.