I'm curious to get your perspective on this since I absolutely love Catherine. I agree with the transphobic elements as the handling of Erica is questionable, but I think the sexism of the characters are used to show the flaws of the male standpoints and show different, often flawed male perspectives to add layers to Vincent's situation. Even with the boss, who is explicitely sexist, Vincent eventually stands up to him and outright says he's wrong. I think its a really interesting narrative with how it tackles Japan's declining birth rates and explores flawed masculine views on women and relationships.

@perthalus I think my issues stem less from the viewpoints of the characters in-game (although their views are also extremely misogynistic it’s obvious the game isn’t promoting these ideas intentionally) and more from the way the game chooses to portray women. Katherine and Catherine are completely two dimensional and any characterization they do have is extremely archetypal. I also found them to be heavily antagonized for a large chunk of the game to the point that they’re literally half the bosses, with Vincent being portrayed as a victim of being overwhelmed by the two. I thought the villainization of women was a common theme throughout, with women causing nothing but stress and misery for every single man you encounter. I know that the game is attempting to critique the viewpoints these men have, but I found everything they were trying to say pretty invalidated by the end of the game where Vincent gets what he wants. Regardless of if Catherine was real or not, he still actively cheated and lied to his girlfriend, which is somehow justified because she didn’t exist? If the game was really committed to condemning the toxic masculinity it presents then the men in question wouldn’t be in such positive positions by the end of the narrative. (I got the ending where Katherine and Vincent get married, idk if the other endings are any different)

Ah, I see, yeah, I think the fact the game has multiple endings rather than one solid ending makes it quite hard to sus out when it comes to its implications and such. Maybe its time I replay it, appreciate the perspective.