Far Cry Primal makes the case for 2016 being the Year of the Cat

There may come a time when 'the Internet' becomes synonymous with 'cat videos'. And the impending release of Ubisoft's Far Cry Primal can only add fuel to the feline-glorifying fire.

The main hook of Primal - besides the Stone Age setting - is that your character Takkar is the first human in history to ever tame a wild animal. You start off with only an owl for aerial support, but eventually gain the wherewithal to befriend wolves, bears, and all manner of prehistoric mammals. Not only do they make for excellent company, they're also a huge boon in combat.

But I'm willing to bet that the saber tooth tiger will be, by far, the most popular pet in the game. As one of the few creatures you can mount up and ride, the saber tooth is the fastest; you can even command it to chew up prey while you're atop its back. It's as stealthy as any cat, letting you set up sneak attacks where you and your furry companion execute unwitting prey in unison. And above all, it's got some absolutely adorable animations, like licking itself clean during downtime or chowing down to restore its health autonomously when you don't have any meat to feed it. It'll probably end up making a meal out of a human enemy's corpse, but still - cute.

There's a whole menagerie of animals to choose from; as you can hear in the above video, Maxwell is clearly a staunch member of Team Bear. But I'm all for the saber tooth tiger as my primary pet, for all its lovable feline tendencies. If 2015 was the year of the video game dog, with Metal Gear Solid 5's D-Dog and Fallout 4's Dogmeat, Far Cry Primal could kickstart 2016 as the year of the cat.