This Diamond Family Alternative Gaming of the Year Awards for 2025
Well, how was 2025 in your household? Did it seem all as good as you pretended on Facebook? Overflowing with academic success for the children and riotous dress-up birthday parties for the parents? Or was it a swamp of letdowns with only rare enjoyable moments? Is any of this authentic, or is everyone now AI-generated virtual entities with celebrity dental work?
I have gathered everyone for a chat, ready or not, to reflect on the crucial thing in twelve months: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Let's get started:
Release First Daughter Played the Most
Horizon Zero Dawn
"Can’t you pick just one?"
"It’s not my personal ranking."
In the mobile realm, she's invested time in Cityscapes and "searching for adequate healthcare."
"In the game?"
"In real life."
Game Second Son Played the Most
Overwatch
"I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Fair enough.
Title Third Daughter Played the Most
Resident Evil Biohazard
Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was immersed in Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has in the real world.
Game the Partner Played the Most
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
She began the year at sixty percent completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.
Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing
Minecraft
Every time I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he protests, I reply that I am behaving this way to build character 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
There was no contest for this one. She is incredible. 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 exceptionally well-crafted card game digital pastime, with its constantly evolving range of cards and game variations.
Title I Wish I Had Played Less
Marvel Snap
The worst thing about games that endlessly add to their range is you wake up one day and realise it is all just an attempt to trap you with fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.
Game I Wish I Had Played More
Doom: The Dark Ages
Stunning reinvention of a classic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. 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 gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the focused attention to give it what it needed earlier this year. With holiday guests over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.
Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It
Balatro
I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's surprise hit, but I was late to it. And it is exceptional. It just gets absolutely everything right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play any time. Add in the charm of the card design, and this is an definite peak 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.
Game I Got the Most Flak For Criticising
Outer Worlds 2
I endured a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a glitch in another game ruined the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "poorly reasoned". I share that as written, because I appreciate the effort, and he is obviously an excellent judge of character.
Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Alright. Give me a bastard-hard 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 has great art and is perfection if you are into this kind of thing, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I desire less in my current stage of life. I was around back when many games were like this, and I'm over it. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.
Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025
Debate between business deals that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious 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 make interesting names bellowed from the doorstep at tea 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 phone use, but it burns like hellfire 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.
