The Dominik Diamond Personal Gaming of the Year Roundup for This Year

Alright, how was the past year in your home? Was it truly wonderful as one might claim on online? Packed with academic success for your offspring and elaborate dress-up birthday parties for the grownups? Maybe it felt like a ocean of frustration with only occasional fun flotsam? Is any of this actually real, or is everyone now seven-fingered virtual entities with unrealistic teeth?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, ready or not, to reflect on the most important thing in twelve months: what titles we enjoyed the most. Let's get started:

Release Eldest Daughter Played the Most

Pikmin

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"It’s not my definitive list."

In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In reality."

Game Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I have no interest in games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. Point taken.

Game Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She is trying to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was playing Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her eldest sister has in real life.

Game the Wife Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at sixty percent completion and ended it at 82%. It's a long haul not a sprint for her. Her phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.

Game I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a persistent critic. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to toughen him up so he can grow up and play games for adults. It's a classic Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Notable Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. More impressive than I was at classic rhythm games in my prime.

Game I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

No other game compared to the hours I spent on this remarkably well-crafted deck building wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The catch about games that endlessly add to their range is you wake up one day and understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it went into the bin.

Game 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 demons so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I'm unwilling to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after evening drinks.

Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was last year's surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is exceptional. It just gets every single thing right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I literally would play at any hour. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an true pinnacle of gaming. I wouldn't mind being stuck in a broken-down lift for hours just so I have nothing to do but play it.

Title I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I received a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a glitch in another game ruined 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 experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I mention that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an sharp judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Alright. Give me a punishingly tough Metroidvania-esque thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". How delightful. I acknowledge that it is beautiful and is ideal if you are into challenging games, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and I'm over it. It was fine when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many less comfortable things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Toss-up between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and premium pricing. Both morally indefensible and repugnant.

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 called 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 button mashing or phone use, but it aches like anything in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs looked after 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 heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.