These people need to play Catherine.
The best way to describe Catherine is that it's a Puzzle game with a gripping and insane story at its core; made by Atlus, it manages to balance gameplay with impressive story telling techniques which feel slightly reminiscent of the Persona series for obvious reasons. Now although this sounds similar to the type of game I was describing above, its the addictive puzzles and the content of the story that really makes this sleeper hit such a stand-out title for me.
You are Vincent; a thirty-something year old who has a long term girlfriend called Katherine. She is slightly controlling, highly strung and quite boring, but Vincent loves her, she is grown up and represents his commitment to being a adult. Recently, Vincent has changed jobs to a low paid but enjoyable role and has started to question whether he is ready to settle down. He spends every night with his group of friends at the local bar until one night when he wakes up with another woman (Catherine) in his bed.
Then he starts having nightmares.
Temptation or Fate?
The game is best described as 50% Visual Novel, 50% Puzzle and these nightmares are where the latter half of the game takes place. Vincent and hordes of sheep must pull, push, climb and fall their way up a wall of blocks before it collapses beneath them to escape the nightmare; working against each other and in some levels a giant manifestation of Vincent's innermost fears that is giving chase. If Vincent or the sheep fall, but don't wake up before they hit the ground, they die in real life.
It's extremely difficult to describe, but perhaps one of the most interesting puzzle games I have played; there are so many methods to beating the same level and it feels satisfying to ascend the wall to the very top, knowing that when you do, you get to talk to the sheep representations of the people you interact with in the 'real' world to find their inner secrets that you know that they're hiding from you.
Catherine keeps each stage varied by providing a series of variant blocks that change the dynamic and feel of each level; keeping you on your toes and suitably frustrated. After the first level things can get extremely complicated - I had to wheeze it up on easy mode by the end as I just couldn't take the feelings of inadequacy any more. However that's part of the enjoyment; the satisfaction of solving a puzzle and feeling like a genius - reminiscent of the rush you get from defeating a boss in Dark Souls or getting a good result from a really difficult piece of project work.
An example of the rather unique gameplay
Not only does the title have the story mode, it adds more 'game' to the cooking pot via the arcade machine in the bar you frequent every night called "Rapunzel" where the same principle as in the nightmare sequences is applied. Ontop of this, you also have 'Babel' mode for 1 or 2 players where random block sets are in play which prevent you or your partner from planning ahead; you work co-operatively to climb the tower together. Finally there is the 'Colosseum' mode which is a competitive, local split-screen variant of the puzzle aspect that requires you to race against the second player to be the fastest to climb to the summit of the tower. All add considerable length and replayability to the game and are a joy to play for hours after you have finished the main story.
But the great part of the title is the way that it strings you along. It's an extremely impressive piece of game design as the more Vincent strings along both of the women in his life, the more invested in the story you are. So when it drip feeds you cliffhangers every night, it makes you want to press forwards. But you can't until you've finished the series of puzzles in the nightmare phase. The game toys with you as much as your character and decisions do in the story, and makes you feel like the ignored partner that suspects the game of cheating on you, by pushing you to one side every time you get a gleam of the possibility that it is going to open up to you and confess its secrets.
On the flip-side however it can also be a big agitator. I found that the more the game went on, the more I wanted it to morph into a pure visual novel rather than a puzzle hybrid. It wasn't because of the lack of depth or the difficult puzzles, but more the fact that I loved the story so much, I never wanted the progression to end; rather than sudden walls that were raised after it just got good. It felt very jarring at times that something interesting would happen, then you couldn't follow that lead until you left the Stray Sheep bar and went to sleep.
Whilst on the subject of frustration, the controls in the puzzle sections of Catherine seem to actively work against you; sometimes performing twice the amount of movements that you wanted, or moving a block in the wrong direction which can cause you to have to reset the entire level. Additionally, the controls also killed me multiple times as you are required in some nightmares to move around the far side of the wall. Apart from not being able to see Vincent, the game reverses the buttons but in a strange way; forcing you to lose time to an unfortunately confusing mess of presses to get him visible again.
Although I say this, Catherine still does plenty more to make this up to you. The soundtrack both whilst in nightmares and in the Stray Sheep bar for the story scenes is once again a fantastic treat from Atlus that like I said in my Madworld review, had me humming the songs long after I had stopped playing. The combination of well written characters that you care about along with this soundtrack can cause some great moments; whether you're browsing your phone and receiving dirty text messages from your mistress, talking to the weird and wonderful characters of the area or rehearsing the "techniques" mentally that you are shown by the sheep in the dream world every night. There is a heavy emphasis on atmosphere in this title and it benefits greatly from it.
Visually, this is almost a clone of the Persona games; I feel bad using them as a comparison, but it's just true. You can take a single look at the cartoony and overly exaggerated characters with the slightly more photo-realistic scenery and see that the individual feel of the games has carried over to make this feel like an extension of the series.
Independently and for those who haven't played a Persona game, the graphics are cel-shaded and characters personality traits are placed at the forefront of their appearance. The surroundings in the game are cartoony, but just appear to be photographs with a light artistic filter applied on them. Along with fantastic anime cutscenes, this is a gorgeous mix of visual elements and is unlike anything you'll see anywhere else.
But finally, perhaps the most important thing to mention about Catherine, is how it's a game that makes you question your own morality. It's a lesson in the fact that we all take our morals from the environment and culture around us, but challenges you on that matter. It allows you to make choices on whether you favour your long term girlfriend Katherine, if you prefer the new and exciting Catherine or if you just enjoy playing them both off against each other in some interesting ways that I will not spoil. It genuinely made me consider why I feel that cheating is wrong from the way it portrays Vincent's life and inner monologue; but by the end and due to the decisions I made, showed me exactly why I have the views I do on the matter.
It's a game that will stay in my mind for a very long time and an experience I recommend everyone to try. I was given it for free through PS+ (EU) but it can be picked up extremely cheaply for around £14/$20; more than worth the price of admission if you're looking for something new to try, but have been patient.
8/10
Whilst on the subject of frustration, the controls in the puzzle sections of Catherine seem to actively work against you; sometimes performing twice the amount of movements that you wanted, or moving a block in the wrong direction which can cause you to have to reset the entire level. Additionally, the controls also killed me multiple times as you are required in some nightmares to move around the far side of the wall. Apart from not being able to see Vincent, the game reverses the buttons but in a strange way; forcing you to lose time to an unfortunately confusing mess of presses to get him visible again.
"Vincent, I'm sorry but you have to go around the back of the tower again."
Although I say this, Catherine still does plenty more to make this up to you. The soundtrack both whilst in nightmares and in the Stray Sheep bar for the story scenes is once again a fantastic treat from Atlus that like I said in my Madworld review, had me humming the songs long after I had stopped playing. The combination of well written characters that you care about along with this soundtrack can cause some great moments; whether you're browsing your phone and receiving dirty text messages from your mistress, talking to the weird and wonderful characters of the area or rehearsing the "techniques" mentally that you are shown by the sheep in the dream world every night. There is a heavy emphasis on atmosphere in this title and it benefits greatly from it.
Visually, this is almost a clone of the Persona games; I feel bad using them as a comparison, but it's just true. You can take a single look at the cartoony and overly exaggerated characters with the slightly more photo-realistic scenery and see that the individual feel of the games has carried over to make this feel like an extension of the series.
Independently and for those who haven't played a Persona game, the graphics are cel-shaded and characters personality traits are placed at the forefront of their appearance. The surroundings in the game are cartoony, but just appear to be photographs with a light artistic filter applied on them. Along with fantastic anime cutscenes, this is a gorgeous mix of visual elements and is unlike anything you'll see anywhere else.
But finally, perhaps the most important thing to mention about Catherine, is how it's a game that makes you question your own morality. It's a lesson in the fact that we all take our morals from the environment and culture around us, but challenges you on that matter. It allows you to make choices on whether you favour your long term girlfriend Katherine, if you prefer the new and exciting Catherine or if you just enjoy playing them both off against each other in some interesting ways that I will not spoil. It genuinely made me consider why I feel that cheating is wrong from the way it portrays Vincent's life and inner monologue; but by the end and due to the decisions I made, showed me exactly why I have the views I do on the matter.
It's a game that will stay in my mind for a very long time and an experience I recommend everyone to try. I was given it for free through PS+ (EU) but it can be picked up extremely cheaply for around £14/$20; more than worth the price of admission if you're looking for something new to try, but have been patient.
8/10
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