Our Dominik Diamond Alternative Gaming of the Year Awards for This Year

Well, how was the past year in your household? Was it entirely positive as you pretended on online? Full of academic success for the kids and wild themed fancy dress birthday parties for the adults? Or perhaps it was a sea of frustration with only rare fun highlights? Could any part be genuine, or have we all become AI-generated virtual entities with celebrity teeth?

I've assembled everyone for a chat, willing or unwilling, to reflect on the paramount thing in a calendar year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. Without further ado:

Release First Daughter Played the Most

Just Dance 2024

"Is it impossible to pick just one?"

"It’s not my personal ranking."

Meanwhile, on mobile, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "trying to find adequate healthcare."

"Virtually?"

"In the actual world."

Release Middle Son Played the Most

Overwatch

"I refuse to play games on my phone." He was offended that the question was posed. Point taken.

Title Third Daughter Played the Most

Resident Evil Biohazard

Her goal is to get into drama school, but when she wasn’t singing, she was playing Resident Evil. She also spoke at length in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her character has a thriving utopia with far better healthcare than her big sister has in the real world.

Game the Partner 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.

Title I Teased My Kids About My Kids for Still Playing

Minecraft

Whenever I see my adult son playing Minecraft, I give him a hard time like a cross between a classic comedy bit. When he complains, I reply that I am doing this to prepare him so he can be a man and play games for adults. It’s a very Scottish father/son relationship.

Most Skilled Gaming Family Member of the Year

Eldest Daughter on Just Dance 2024

She was the clear winner for this one. She is incredible. Superior than I was at my peak gaming days 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.

Game I Wish I Had Played Less

Marvel Snap

The downside about games that endlessly add to their range is you have a moment of clarity and understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with compulsion-based 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 off. I wish I could eviscerate my issues so effectively in real life.

Title I Wish I Had Played More (Puzzle-Focused Edition)

Blue Prince

I decline to rush this stunning, original game and I just was short on the focused attention to give it what it deserved earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I will be playing this in the late night after family time.

Game That Kept Me Sane When I Needed It

Balatro

I acknowledge Balatro was 2024’s surprise hit, but I was slow on the uptake. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. Its gameplay loop is a brilliant concept, but the effects behind the different wild cards are so imaginative it has become a game I literally would play any time. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an definite peak of gaming. I fantasize about being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have an opportunity but play it.

Game I Got the Most Criticism For Criticising

Outer Worlds 2

I endured a bit of backlash when I wrote about how a glitch in another game damaged the experience for me, but that other title is still a massive gaming achievement in terms of art, sound, acting – which I appreciated even more after experiencing Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the reader who took the time to write in to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I present that in the exact way, because I acknowledge the engagement, and she is obviously an astute judge of character.

Game Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Fine. Give me a brutally difficult Metroidvania-esque thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "look around". Great fun. I understand that it has great art and is perfection if you are into the genre, but I cannot think of a gaming experience I am less interested in in my current stage of life. I was around back when all games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was okay when I was a kid, but so was many outdated things.

Biggest Gaming News of 2025

Debate between corporate partnerships that sparked debate, and expensive game releases. Both morally indefensible and concerning.

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

Clair Obscur, Despelote and Bananza would all sound good names called from the doorstep at bedtime.

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 endless scrolling, but it burns like the mines of sulphur in the mornings now. I knew I should have got my thumbs insured back in the 90s.

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 make 2026 last until the cows come home.

Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036

The Witcher 4.