The Diamond Family Alternative Video Game of the Year Awards for 2025

Well, how did you experience 2025 in your household? Was it all as good as you pretended on online? Packed with A-grades for the kids and elaborate costume gatherings for the parents? Maybe it felt like a swamp of disappointment with only occasional fun flotsam? And was any of it genuine, or is everyone now seven-fingered AI slop beings with unrealistic teeth?

I've corralled the family for a chat, ready or not, to discuss the crucial thing in a calendar year: which video games we enjoyed the most. Without further ado:

Game Oldest Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Can’t you pick just one?"

"You can't expect my games column."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate reasonable healthcare."

"In the game?"

"In the actual world."

Release Second Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that I suggested it. I respect that.

Release Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

She's attempting to get into acting, but when she wasn’t singing, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also went on in great detail about her achievements on The Sims, where her avatar has a blooming utopia with significantly better healthcare than her older sibling has outside the game.

Title the Spouse Played the Most

Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time

She started the year at 60% completion and finished the year at eighty-two percent. She's in it for the long run not a sprint for her. On her phone: something called Woodle, where you have to extract pins.

Game I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I set about him like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he objects, I reply that I am engaging in this to prepare him so he can grow up and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member This Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

It wasn't even close for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days in my prime.

Title I Played the Most

Marvel Snap

Nothing came close to the hours I spent on this exceptionally well-crafted card game wizard’s poker, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.

Title I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside 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 fomo-fuelled microtransactions. So enjoyment soured halfway through the year and it got uninstalled.

Title I Wish I Had Played More

Doom: The Dark Ages

Glorious reinvention of a iconic franchise. Engrossing atmosphere from the beginning. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Game I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline 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 family visits over the festive period, I will be playing this in the wee small hours after evening drinks.

Game That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a wonderful concept, but the powers behind the different joker cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Throw in the wittiness of the card design, and this is an absolute peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a small space for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.

Title 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 damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a gargantuan gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after playing Outer Worlds 2. So my appreciation goes out to the commenter who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "missing the point". I present that as written, because I acknowledge the engagement, and he 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 non-linear thing and don’t tell me guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "figure it out". How delightful. I understand that it looks ace 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 my patience is gone. It was fine when I was a kid, but so was many questionable things.

Biggest Gaming Scandal of 2025

Close call between questionable alliances that sparked debate, and high launch costs. Both ethically dubious and unpleasant.

Games I Would Name My Children After, If I Was Ever Stupid Enough to Have More

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all be unique names shouted from the garden at dinner time.

Part of My Body That Aches Most From Gaming

Right Thumb Joint. Honestly. I don’t know if it’s because of video games or doomscrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur 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 stretch time until the heat death of the universe.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.