What surprised you this year?
That, at 48, I can still sink into a couch next to my oldest friend (49, hah) and play a co-op game ostensibly aimed at people much younger ... and not care a jot about what people might say. Split Fiction is/was a magnificent follow-up to It Takes Two. A bit of platform, a bit of shooting, a bit of puzzle-solving and a whole lot of fun.
What was the most derivative or cliched yet the most enjoyable?
Battlefield 6, obviously. Cliches galore in the brief singleplayer campaign, and really not much in multiplayer that we have not seen before. But it was all done rather well.
When did you lose yourself the most?
Playing Fifa (fine, FC 26). As usual. It frustrates me at times, and some changes seem wholly unnecessary, but it is my daily escape for 30 minutes or thereabouts.
What made you really think?
I try not to do much thinking while gaming these days. It's zone-out time for me. But the weird, wild and really quite wonderful Kingdom Come Deliverance II made me think: is this the greatest game I've ever played, or will it be the death of me?
What annoyed you?
Assassin's Creed Shadows. Not sure why. Loved Origins, loved Odyssey, tolerated Valhalla. But Shadows just never really struck a chord. Tried to be Ghost of Tsushima but was never as playable.
