My favorite moment in Skin Deep, an immersive sim and stealth game about rescuing cats and fighting your evil clone in deep space, was always the one immediately after a thoroughly developed plan inevitably went sideways. The skittish way that I was forced to sprint and crawl under a table or into a vent. The manner in which my strategy devolved into simply batting things off of shelves in order to incapacitate a roaming guard or noisily distract them from looking in my direction. The way that I leapt onto a guard's back, dug my claws in, and careened them into surfaces in order to knock them out. If you were to close your eyes, I'd argue you could almost hear that distinctive, feline yowl mid-action.

In short, I think Skin Deep best captures the experience of being a cat, even if Nina Pasadena, the game's protagonist, is decidedly not one. And for this tremendous feat, I am rewarding it with the honor of being the best cat game of 2025. Long live Skin Deep.

In a typical Skin Deep mission, I often tried to keep to the shadows, as is the norm for a game in its genre. I would relegate myself to the ventilation, the pipework surrounding it, and the undersides of tables. Like Batman, I skulked around the perimeter looking for a precise opening that'd enable me to punch a hole in the level's defenses while keeping my cover. Of course, in Skin Deep, it almost never worked out in my favor. Because I am not, in fact, Batman. I'm just a (cat) girl.

PlayStation has revealed this month's batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. All PS Plus members will be able to claim Need For Speed Unbound, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, and Core Keeper starting January 6 and they will remain available until Monday, February 2.

The most recent Need for Speed game, NFS Unbound, has single-player and multiplayer campaigns set in Lakeshore City, which greatly resembles Chicago. Street racing is a key part of the experience, but so is outrunning the cops. As your "Heat" index rises after each race, the police will pursue players with greater intensity as they establish their rep outside of the law. Between races, players can customize their rides and compete in weekly qualifiers to get into the ultimate street racing contest: The Grand.

Epic Mickey was a Wii exclusive upon its 2010 debut until THQ Nordic's 2024 remaster, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, brought the game to modern consoles. The visuals and gameplay have been noticeably improved as Mickey Mouse is sucked into the Wasteland where forgotten characters and concepts have languished for decades. This game is one of the reasons why Disney made a deal to gain the rights to Walt Disney's previous creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. And for the first time, Mickey has to come face-to-face with his brother, Oswald, and reconcile with him if he wants any chance of escaping the Wasteland.