REVIEW: Catherine (2011)

What game would you call perfect, a genuine 10/10, emotions notwitstanding as much as possible? Everyone has their favourite game, the one they can't put down. My favourite has radically changed as I have thought of it,from Fire Emblem to Xenoblade to Shin Megami Tensei IV, but I realised that all of these had flaws. They were flawed classics. Which is why Catherine takes a special place in my heart. To me, it is the only videogame which has 100% delivered on all the various things it has promised...(which is why I like to ignore that it only has 78% on Metacritic but ssshhhhh.)

Catherine is all about Vincent, a complacent bum who's tied down by his girlfriend Katherine - not leirally, this isn't a sex game despite all that marketing. Katherine is pressuring Vincent to marry her, but he is scared to commit. Enter the sexy, cheerful Catherine! After a one-night stand, he finds himself having to choose between the two very different women. Choose Katherine and he's committing himself to shackles for a lifetime. Choose Catherine and he's debasing himself and abandoning true love for a life of sex and selfishness.

BUT! Each night Vincent is forced to climb a deadly tower each night until he gains "True Freedom", whatever that may mean. If he falls off the tower in his dreams, he dies in real life, and there's been a string of such murders recently. The story and character development is brilliant, with everyone getting a good look-in and Vincent's resolve changing to the tune of the 8 different endings you can get, which are all satisfying and reflect the player's own opinion regarding the topic of relationships.

Catherine proposes to players a very interesting story and setting, standing as a criticism of the traditional heterosexual hunter-gatherer relationship, and the social pressure to commit to the perhaps-unrealistic dream of a happy-ever-after world. Yet on the other hand, it is also criticises the increased liberalism of modern society that has normalised sex-first relationships and led to people perceiving romantic partners as more disposable. It's important to note that for a game about love, Catherine is predominantly about heterosexual relationships. That narrows the potential scope of the plot but I don't think it's an inherently bad thing. I think that there's potential in a sequel or spinoff depicting homosexual relationships. Heck, I think it's a game that deserves to be made. But I personally think if they were to tackle both hetero and gay relationships in the one game, I feel that neither topic would get a deep enough look-in, due to the diffeering dynamics and social perspectives on straight and gay relationships.

The gameplay is very clearly split between reality and dreams. During the day, you watch the story progress as Vincent hangs out with his fellow down-out-of-luck friends at the aptly-named Stray Sheep bar. One of Vincent's friends is Johnny, a childhood friend of Vincent who's in permanent sulk mode and can make a crapton of smoke from a tiny cigarette. Then there's Johnny's colleague Toby, an innocent youngster who is desperate to get his V-Card stamped. Orlando sits next to Vincent. He also works at the same company as Vincent as has a happy-go-lucky attitude, as well as a frighteningly ANGULAR beard. Other minor characters include the Boss, who apparently has an array of quotes to use for any situation, and the flirtatious Eirca, a great character who is sadly implemented poorly (You'll get it if you play for long enough...). Naturally many of The Stray Sheep's customers are men who are lost in love and don't know what to do (though there are some women thrown in). You can sit down with these NPCs and chat, and discover more about their life and their thoughts on cheating, commitment and such.

At nighttime it all changes. To climb up that tower I mentioned, Vincent must push and pull blocks to he can climb up said tower. If you've played Pullblox on 3DS, it's like that but on acid (though Catherine came out before Pullblox). Pushing and pulling blocks into satisfying formations is oddly hypnotic and very difficult, but it is very rewarding and a solution is always there. Seriously, it's hypnotic to the point that the night I completed it, I used block puzzles as an equivalent to counting sheep to get me to sleep! Of course it also helps that the levels are impeccably designed, subtly guiding the player as to where to go but leaving the execution to their own creative brains. Hats off to the boss stages, which contain bosses that represent Vincent's inner fears of the real world. They're insanely creepy and have interesting designs. You literally get chased by a vagina at one point early on! Also, remember those NPCs? They appear in this shared dream that you have, each talking about things they are more reluctant to share when in the bar. Talk to your favourite NPCs often or they might die like the others on the news!

The original edit of this review had little to say regarding the soundtrack but I edited because I really do disagree with that original sentiment. the soundtrack is yet another example f Shoji Meguro's inventive approach to yet another genre; this time being Jazz Piano. Meguro's work communicates both the playful humour present in the game, and the slow-burning horror or Vincent's living nightmare. the inspirations for the track are odd, as some levels go as far out as having rock covers of old classical music. trust me though, it all works in the end.

Catherine hit me like no other game has. The reason for this is hard to explain, but when you get it is's so easy to understand. In spite of all of it's insane quirkiness and supernatural elements, Catherine manages to be an intensely relatable game which discusses the important issues of conservative and liberal approaches to love and sex. It's one of the few reasons i got a PS3 and for the bargain that was £1.49 on sale, I cannot be happier. No game better represents Atlus as a creative force. There will be no other game like Catherine, a game that is so proud and bold in its depiction of sex and lust , but so thoughtful and tasteful in how it does so - it's such a bizarre concept that is hard to iterate on without people pointing out all the glaring similarities to the game. Love Is Over? Nah, my love for this game will go on and on.

#catherine #atlus #persona #MegamiTensei