This Dominik Diamond Unofficial Game of the Year Roundup for 2025

So, how did you experience this year in your family? Was it entirely positive as one might claim on Facebook? Overflowing with top marks for the children and elaborate themed fancy dress birthday parties for the adults? Or was it a sea of letdowns with only occasional enjoyable flotsam? Could any part be authentic, or have we all become AI-generated virtual entities with celebrity smiles?

I have gathered everyone for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to debate the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:

Title Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Why can't you pick just one?"

"It’s not my games column."

In the mobile realm, her go-to has been Cityscapes and "trying to find reasonable healthcare."

"Digitally?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that the question was posed. I respect that.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a thriving utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Release the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he complains, I reply that I am behaving this way to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for grownups. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Impressive Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is a machine. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted deck building competitive game, with its constantly evolving 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 eventually realize and understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So affection became resentment 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 off. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Thoughtful Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just didn’t have the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the late night after evening drinks.

Title That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s breakout game, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. The core concept is a brilliant concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play constantly. Combine that with the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I mentioned how a technical issue in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I valued even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the individual who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that as written, because I respect the passion, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Sure. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". What a joy. I understand 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 adulthood. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Controversy of 2025

Debate between business deals that raised eyebrows, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, Were I I Was Ever Crazy 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. Seriously. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or doomscrolling, but it aches like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs protected 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.