🔗 Share this article The Dominik Diamond Alternative Video Game of the Year List for 2025 Well, how was the past year in your household? Was it all as good as people post on Facebook? Overflowing with top marks for the children and riotous costume birthday parties for the parents? Or perhaps it was a sea of disappointment with only sporadic entertaining flotsam? Is any of this actually real, or are we all AI-generated AI slop beings with unrealistic teeth? I have gathered the family together, willing or unwilling, to debate the crucial thing in a calendar year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado: Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most Just Dance 2024 "Can’t you pick just one?" "You can't expect my personal ranking." On her phone, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find decent healthcare." "Digitally?" "In the actual world." Title Middle Son Played the Most Overwatch "I don’t play games on my phone." He took umbrage that I suggested it. Point taken. Release Youngest Daughter Played the Most Resident Evil Biohazard Her goal is to get into acting, but when she took a break from vocals, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her accomplishments on The Sims, where the Shark has a blooming utopia with far better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game. Game the Wife Played the Most Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time She began the year at 60% completion and ended it at 82%. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. Her mobile diversion: something called Woodle, where you have to remove pins. Game I Laughed at My Kids for Still Playing Minecraft Whenever 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 doing this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for mature audiences. This defines our Scottish father/son relationship. Most Notable Gaming Family Member This Year Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024 There was no contest for this one. She is unstoppable. Even better than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime. Title I Played the Most Marvel Snap Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its ever-changing range of cards and game variations. Game I Wish I Had Played Less Marvel Snap The worst thing about games that frequently update their range is you have a moment of clarity and see it is all just an attempt to suck you into fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it got uninstalled. Game I Wish I Had Played More Doom: The Dark Ages Stunning reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the start. 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 refuse to rush this gorgeous, distinctive game and I just lacked the mental bandwidth to give it what it required earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality. Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It Balatro I'm aware Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets every single thing right. The core concept is a fantastic concept, but the effects behind the different joker cards are so inventive it has become a game I could play at any hour. Throw in the charm of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark 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 Backlash For Criticising Outer Worlds 2 I endured a minor pile-on when I wrote about how a technical issue 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 my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to contact me to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I mention that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and they are obviously an excellent judge of character. Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get Hollow Knight: Silksong Fine. Give me a punishingly tough 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 looks ace and is ideal if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I want less of in my current stage of life. I was around back when most games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many outdated things. Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025 Debate between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both difficult to justify and repugnant. Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Foolish Enough to Have More Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all make interesting names bellowed from the garden 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 console gaming or phone use, but it burns like hellfire in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe. Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036 The Witcher 4.