What We Played over the Holidays – Ghost of Yōtei, Mario Galaxy & Guitar Hero

I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas break and are thoroughly refreshed for the year ahead, because we’ve doubtless got some serious gaming to get up to! But what did we all get up to over the holidays? Were there any big new games under your decorated spruce?

Swanning off to visit family, I made sure to pack the Switch 2 for my gaming time. I made a start on Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity… and then made another start because I quit the game during a cutscene and hadn’t hit the first save point. I duelled other in the micro retro gaming of Nintendo World Championship: NES Edition. I scrolled through the eShop sale and snagged Fast Fusion. But the main thing I played was actually Super Mario Galaxy. While I’ve often made a start on this classic for its rereleases and remasters on Wii U and Switch, I’d never made it past the second or third cluster of galaxies. So, it was high time to fix that, and I’m now on the cusp of the final showdown to rescue my “special one”, as Rosalina keeps calling them.

I assume Rosalina means it’s Jose Mourinho? But I’ll find out this weekend.

Aran’s making a start to 2026 with his first review of the year, and it’s the charming and ambitious platforming adventure Big Hops. This was featured in the Day of the Devs stream last year, but to keep an air of mystery, I won’t tell you which kind of hopping animal you play as.

Jason’s body is now ready for both a new D&D campaign – he’s made a “silly build” – and for the next Genshin Impact patch. While he waits for both of those, he’s letting his Megabonk obsession carry him through to a score of 200,000… or at least that’s his plan.

We’re amongst gaming royalty, as Ade has made it up to Gold Tier 3 in Marvel Rivals – OK, so I’m stretching that definition pretty far, but he’s dead chuffed with himself. Alongside that, he’s been playing a shoot ’em up puzzler called Popucom with Laura for an upcoming review.

And speaking of his better half, Laura has continued to dive into the creepiness of Silent Hill f, which she’s pronouncing ‘fffffffff’. She’s also still tending to her dinosaur park in Jurassic World Evolution 3, but is starting to run up against the boundaries of the simulation and is being told her park is too big!

It’s mostly been our Game of the Year winner Ghost of Yotei for Gamoc, alongside Borderlands 4, and some Warriors: Abyss thrown in for good measure. His general verdict? “They’re all great.”

Steve tells us that, “In keeping with the festive spirit I played through the ultra bleak and depressing Total Chaos which was great for a game that began life as a mod for Doom II. I’ve balanced that with some family Guitar Hero and Rock Band 3 evenings on Wii (through the WiiU) – even getting to try out the keyboard for the latter. Kids now want me to get Clone Hero sorted out for PC. Finally I started Lost Records Bloom and Rage which is already playing out in familiar Don’t Nod style but I’m interested to see where it’s going.”

And finally, not able to face the cold snap that we’re currently enduring Dom’s been playing Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road in the little bits of brain-soothing free time that he has away from the madness of working the festive season.

That’s us, but what about you? What did you play over the holidays?