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.

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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.

NFS Unbound promo art.

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.

Mickey unleashes his paint brush in promo art for Epic Mickey: Rebrushed.

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.

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Dying 1983 is the new adventure from the Dying franchise. In this first person puzzle game, Dying 1983, you will operate the protagonist to freely explore the 3D scenes, using a variety of props collected to solve one puzzle after another, ultimately discovering the hidden truth behind the scenes. The game retains the critically acclaimed puzzle gameplay of its predecessor, with three times as many puzzles. Hundreds of strange items have been added to make the exploration experience a quantum leap forward. The text of the script is five times larger than the predecessor, and the narrative and performances have been greatly enhanced, so that the iconic character of the series, Fishhead, will appear in a more unexpected form this time!

Welcome to a groundbreaking virtual reality experience that brings the wonders of the cosmos, the intricacies of engineering, and the mysteries of our planet to life like never before. With a fusion of cutting-edge technology and captivating content, our VR experience offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn, explore, and engage with 30 lessons in three dynamic fields: Astronomy & Space Travel, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, and Geology & Earth Science.

The 17 colonies of Exo-Planet W4-V35 are under attack! Can you survive all 17.waves? Assemble up to 4 friends online and defend each base from the incoming alien hordes. You must work together to collect coins, gather resources, and build/maintain your towers.

Throughout the events of Promise Mascot Agency, I was Pinky's ride. Anywhere that she needed to go, I had to ferry her in my crappy little truck. As a matter of fact, I was responsible for the transport of any and every mascot that stumbled through the doors of the Promise Mascot Agency and came under my employ. When Kofun needed to go to a nearby graveyard, I was the guy for the job. When Trororo needed a lift to the local adult store, I begrudgingly told him to hop in. Be it by land, air, or sea, it became my responsibility, and mine alone, to make sure everyone got where they needed to go.

Promise Mascot Agency is a game filled to the brim with chores and mundane tasks like this. As I traveled across the isle of Kaso-Machi, drifting in and out of decrepit villages and farm fields, I found that Promise Mascot Agency's cast was filled with folks in need of some assistance. The English teacher who worked unpaid overtime shifts to put on a night school at her underfunded workplace. The nearby mechanic with an insatiable curiosity for the occult, and no time between his job and family. If a shrine needed to be swept, I was there with a broom in a split second. Whether it was the local barkeep in a gimp suit, the streamer-turned-farmer, or of course, the disenfranchised youth, I was there with an olive branch to extend.

Promise Mascot Agency probably sounds like a convoluted game. It is. In one breath, it is a title about an ex-yakuza--handsomely voiced by the same actor behind Kiryu in the Yakuza games--driving around a countryside, rounding up seemingly endless collectibles and upgrades, and sending living mascots (like a giant crying tofu block) out on jobs via a simplistic management system and card-based minigame. In the latter, you must play support cards with differing strengths and weaknesses as a mascot performs a job in order to beat a troubling interference that arises and assure the job is a success. In another breath, it is a full-throated exercise in the lengths of compassion and empathy. It is rarely sleek and sexy about it--Promise Mascot Agency doesn't feature over-the-top set pieces or hide slick new super moves to reward the player for completing its long list of chores. But real, tender empathy for your fellow man rarely does look so good, and Promise Mascot Agency's unglamorous honesty is something I've come to admire from one of 2025's best and brightest games.

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