The Dominik Diamond Alternative Gaming of the Year List for This Year
Well, what did you think of this year in your home? Did it seem all as good as people post on social media? Full of top marks for your offspring and wild dress-up gatherings for the parents? Maybe it felt like a ocean of disappointment with only occasional fun highlights? Is any of this genuine, or are we all digitally altered virtual entities with unrealistic smiles?
I've corralled my thoughts for a reflection, willing or unwilling, to discuss the crucial thing in a calendar year: which releases we were obsessed with the most. So here goes:
Title Oldest Daughter Played the Most
Horizon Zero Dawn
"Why can't you pick just one?"
"It’s not my games column."
In the mobile realm, she’s been playing Cityscapes and "attempting to locate adequate healthcare."
"In the game?"
"In real life."
Title Middle Son Played the Most
Overwatch
"I refuse to play games on my phone." He seemed insulted that I suggested it. Fair enough.
Release Third Daughter Played the Most
Resident Evil Biohazard
Her goal is to get into theatre school, but when she stepped away from the mic, she was tackling Resident Evil. She also elaborated in great detail about her successes on The Sims, where her avatar has a successful utopia with infinitely better healthcare than her older sibling has in real life.
Game the Partner Played the Most
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
She started 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 phone game: something called Woodle, where you have to unscrew pins.
Release I Found Amusing That My Kids for Still Playing
Minecraft
Every time I see my 21-year-old son playing Minecraft, I rib him like a cross between a relentless heckler. When he objects, I reply that I am behaving this way to prepare him so he can mature and play games for grownups. It’s a very 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 a machine. More impressive than I was at Dancing Stage MegaMix in my prime.
Game I Played the Most
Marvel Snap
It was in a league of its own to the hours I spent on this insanely well-crafted strategy competitive game, with its regularly updated range of cards and game variations.
Game 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 understand it is all just an attempt to trap you with fear-of-missing-out driven microtransactions. So love turned to hate halfway through the year and it went into the bin.
Title I Wish I Had Played More
Doom: The Dark Ages
Excellent reinvention of a legendary franchise. Captivating atmosphere from the off. I wish I could eviscerate my problems so effectively in real life.
Title I Wish I Had Played More (Cerebral Edition)
Blue Prince
I'm unwilling to rush this beautiful, unique game and I just was short on the time or headspace to give it what it needed earlier this year. With relatives staying over the festive period, I aim to experience this in the early morning after appropriate hospitality.
Title That Was a Lifesaver When I Needed It
Balatro
I acknowledge Balatro was the previous year's breakout game, but I was a late adopter. And it is remarkable. It just gets each element right. Crazy Poker is a wonderful concept, but the abilities behind the different wild cards are so creative it has become a game I could play constantly. Throw in the cleverness of the card design, and this is an absolute high-water mark of gaming. I dream of being stuck in a elevator for hours just so I have the perfect excuse but play it.
Game I Got the Most Backlash For Criticising
Outer Worlds 2
I received a minor pile-on when I mentioned 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 art, sound, acting – which I recognized even more after slogging through Outer Worlds 2. So thank you to the individual who took the time to send a message to say that my Outer Worlds 2 review was "bitter, confused resentment". I share that verbatim, because I appreciate the effort, and she is obviously an excellent judge of character.
Title Everybody Loved That I Just Didn’t Get
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Fine. Give me a punishingly tough non-linear thing and leave me without guidance on what I am supposed to be doing, except "explore". Great fun. I understand that it is beautiful and is flawless 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 many games were like this, and I’ve had enough. It was acceptable when I was a kid, but the same could be said for many questionable things.
Biggest Gaming News of 2025
Toss-up between questionable alliances that caused concern, and premium pricing. Both difficult to justify 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 shouted from the back door 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 console gaming or endless scrolling, but it aches 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 wait patiently until the end of days.
Game I Am Looking Forward to the Most in 2036
The Witcher 4.
