I've actually been dreading to write this review for a while now, since I feel like Catherine's overall reception is... not so good for the most part (from what I've read atleast). That didn't stop me from having a blast in my time with it though and here's why.

As for the gameplay, the puzzles are fun, controls are simple and responsive. Once you learn a bunch of techniques as you play through the game, you can really feel how your skills improve (like in a fighting game) and this knowledge will carry over to each of the puzzles you do. Getting the hang of the mechanics just feels very satisfying and being able to master dealing with certain blocks you once had problems with is great. Overall it's genuinely some of the most fun and unique gameplay I've experienced (...Final Boss aside, but more about that later).

Catherine doesn't only excel in the gameplay department, it also has a great art direction and a very fitting soundtrack. It's really cool when the main menu reflects the characters' personalities already without actively spelling it out to the player. Katherine is being shown sitting in the shadows with Vincent being chained to the wall by her side, while Catherine herself appears in the foreground in the menu and changes her position depending on your navigation through the menu, presenting her "freedom" and being able to do what she wants. Maybe I'm interpreting too much into this and it wasn't the intention of the developers at all, but the fact that a menu even allows me to make those theories is good enough to me. Main menu aside, the entire game has a gloomy mood overall that's conveyed really well. I don't know if it's the lighting in the bar, the soundtrack, or the characters Vincent meets along the way. It's hard to describe and yet it feels like everything's at the right place somehow.

The story itself is actually pretty simple, but it was also intriguing enough for me to always look forward to what would come next. As a semi-Megaten game, Catherine features a "morality meter", and it basically works just like the alignment system in the Shin Megami Tensei games in a way that your answers to the characters will affect Vincent's morality and the further course of the storyline. However, you shouldn't just worry about how Vincent's doing, because other familiar faces are having the same nightmares as him and if you're not willing to listen to their problems properly, they might meet a sudden end...

Everything I said has been quite positive so far, but I'd also like to address some aspects that bothered me and... could just have been left out entirely. Let's start with the boring complaint first - I didn't like the Final Boss. They were too RNG-based for my likings and the sudden random homing attacks and the move that pauses you mid-movement (really great when you're standing on a trap block!) got somewhat frustrating after a few tries. In defense of the game, I could have just used the provided checkpoints to make it a little easier for me, but I wanted to get the Gold Prize for the level, so I had to do it without any checkpoints at all. This resulted in the final stretch before the last goal being one of the most intense parts in gaming for me (the music really elevated that feeling). Skill issue? Maybe.

My second complaint is the use of absolutely unnescessary transphobia in two scenes. This is an issue many other people are also having with the game, so I think it's really important to address this problem. Erica, one of the characters in Catherine, is a trans woman who has been friends with Vincent's gang since high school and works as a waitress at the bar. I don't even want to go in detail about what exactly is said, since I feel that's rude, but basically one of the scenes in Katherine's True Ending (which is a good ending by the way) has a character suddenly deadname Erica and making a rude remark about her. Got me rolling my eyes and pretend the scene just never happened (since it bears no importance on the story anyways), so I could just blank it out and not let it affect my overall enjoyment of the game I love so much for all the other reasons I mentioned.

Anyways, I just picked up Full Body on an eShop sale yesterday and am really looking forward to experiencing this game again in a new coat of paint (and especially to see how Rin is integrated into the story). Persona 3 Reload is also coming along nicely, almost done with it now. Speaking of Persona, did you know Catherine was originally a tech demo for Persona 5? That would make it the best tech demo I've played since Portal. In any case, thanks for reading.

The animation is great, but if you don't particularly like playing puzzle game with a timer and confusing control, I recommend simply watching the story on youtube. The puzzle game isn't just something that break up the pacing. It takes up 90% of the playtime and it gets pretty frustrating even on Easy.

The story itself isn't great either. It's repetitive and the two main female characters barely gets any characterisation. You choices made throughout the game make practically no difference except for the endings. The MC is always panicking on screen and you won't get to see any real romance until the very end. You won't even get to know what it was in them that attracted the MC nor what did the girls see in the MC. So if you're looking for a dating sim with hot anime waifu and harmless casual mini-games like I did, better look elsewhere.

This game has pretty much everything you could want in a game. Having every choice you make matter to your outcome and ending of the game, and on a smaller scale this same principle executed well with the fun and experimental gameplay. Characters that feel real and do a really good job at showing you the toxic aspects of relationships and some of the root causes of these issues. A story that packs a real punch and tackles really hard and difficult questions. A deep atmosphere that is complimented well by the game's incredible soundtrack. And the fact it is all paced exceptionally well for it being a 12 hour game makes Catherine easily one of the best games I've ever played.

Have yet to finish it at the time of writing due to its Baba is You approach to difficulty, but I think it’s safe to call Catherine one of the most unapologetically auteurial video games I’ve played. It’s absurdly unique— pretty much the only piece of media I can think of to cross block pushing with girlfriend cheating, and in that regard it’s extraordinarily well realized. Tense, mind bending escape sequences are so masterfully woven together and juxtaposed with chill, Yakuza style bar crawls. But just as Vincent’s nightmare towers crumble below him during his climbs, so too are his reprieves brief. When hanging out at the Stray Sheep, time passes as you talk to each character, check your texts, even take a hard earned slug of beer. A mantra of Persona 5 (for which Catherine was a tech demo) is “take your time”, but here alas you are afforded very little— it’s keep moving or die gruesome after all. But where our tragic protagonist has to suck this up with a pit in his stomach, his journey is hardly grueling from the player perspective (though it is REALLY fucking hard at times). Gameplay is tight and snappy, challenging but fair, so much so that it even attracted a small yet dedicated corner of the FGC. Combine that with its brilliant excellently paced writing and you’re in for a treat, just keep in mind one with both a high skill ceiling AND floor.

Why do tech demos always hit so hard?

Imported from my Backloggery:

This is a tough one, because the story was so fun to watch unfold. The texting system, drinking mechanic, the alcohol trivia, the art, all of it is so great. The only issue is that the game itself is not fun to play at all. About 3/4 of the way through the game, (6-3) I gave up and changed the difficulty to easy. This made the game slightly more fun, except that the narrative relied on the game being difficult to work. If they made the puzzles less trial and error based, it would be better.

hardest smt game

change the sound settings to this so you can actually hear what's happening in game without everything being too loud
Master Volume: 10
Sound FX Volume: 7
Music Volume: 9
Dialog Volume: 10
Cinematic Volume: 8
Environment Volume: 8