Catherine

Catherine offers exactly what the Videogames industry hasn’t been able to offer in a while – something fresh! Nowadays it is such a huge risk for a developer to come up with a new idea or new concept for a videogame. Developers and publishers tend to go for the safe options – new episodes of well-established franchises, or a new game based on something already proved successful. I take my hat off to Atlus, not only for taking the risk, but also for being successful at it, having created something truly unique.

In its core Catherine is a puzzle game, but as a whole, this game is an experience quite difficult to describe. The game takes place in two different dimensions – you either spend time in the dreaming dimension, in which you will come across the puzzle solving levels, or you spend time in an Anime-like world, building up your character and defining his opinions towards his love life. In the latest, it is like you are put into an Anime series. You mainly go to the bar with your friends, have some crazy dialogues about the nightmares you’re having and get drawn into the most important choice of your character’s life – which lover to pick? Will you go with the love of your life – Katherine – or this new, young and sexy crazy girl – Catherine? The choices you make during the game will directly influence the outcome of it, so it’s only normal that game has several different endings.

When it comes down to the puzzles, this game offers some of the most challenging and difficult levels I have ever played in my life. Even if you play it in the easy mode, expect some frustrating moments yelling at your TV screen. But making it difficult is also what makes it interesting and rewarding. You basically have to push around blocks in order to create a path to arrive at the top. Throughout the game you will learn several different techniques of pushing blocks and climbing, earn new items that help you climbing, and face some of the craziest boss-levels that I have ever faced.

The graphics are simply beautiful and very well polished, with a bit of a dark humorous feeling to them, the gameplay is intuitive and addictive, the characters have some serious depth to them (at least for what you expect in a game of this type), and the storyline not only is smart, but also super funny. Finally, the Anime cut scenes are extraordinary and give the perfect complement to the in-game experience.

This is by far one of the most interesting and innovative videogames I have ever played. I’d say it requires a certain level of maturity for you to make the most out of it, and also a nice amount of patience. A very pleasant and rewarding surprise that is available at a very low price in stores.