*contains spoilers*
Hey guys! Chris here with another hit game that seemed to go under the radar: the forgotten puzzle platformer, “Catherine”. “Catherine” came out July 26th 2011 (NA) for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
“Catherine” follows the sad story of a man named Vincent Brooks. His life had no real value and wasn’t really set to go anywhere. The only good part about his life was his wonderful girlfriend, Katherine McBride. Vincent had been dating Katherine for over five years, and is dragging his feet about proposing to her. In an attempt to avoid his problems, Vincent likes to go to his favorite bar The Stray Sheep, where he and his friends drink until closing. One night everything goes wrong. His friends leave early and another girl comes into the bar. She starts hitting on Vincent, who has had a little too much to drink. He wakes up in the morning to find her with him, in bed. As the days progress, Catherine finds some way to sneak back into Vincent’s life at the worst of times, especially when he is talking to Katherine. His days and nights get worse from there. Vincent must dodge all of Katherine’s questions on marriage as well as her ever growing suspicion of him cheating on her, and the nights at the bar aren’t any better. Vincent has been having nightmares every night since he met Catherine. The nightmares focus on him climbing towers made of blocks that seem to go on forever until he finds a mysterious handle that pulls him up to a floating platform filled with sheep. The strange part is that each sheep keeps saying Vincent himself is a sheep, making every sheep he runs into another person in this deranged dream someone threw them into. The worst part is that when he wakes up, he doesn’t remember the dream. 
The game isn’t just climbing a tower of blocks. Vincent has a social life outside of his dreams. Every night you get to explore the bar interacting with certain people who are down on their luck. Depending on how you talk to each person day to day is whether or not they decide to keep climbing in their dreams, because if they fall, they die. Going through the bar you get to know everyone in it, from the workers to the nightly drinkers. Each one is adding another piece to the puzzle of who is in control of the chaotic nightmares. After each night at the bar, you’re right back into the never ending nightmare. Each day the dreams get worse and you have to find new creative ways to push blocks up,over, or even off the ledge until you eventually find the door to freedom. Eventually you find your way to a floating platform with sheep on it, all eager to blame someone for all their problems. Sadly these people are the same guys you meet at the bar, except you don’t know who it is unless you recognize their voice. After exploring the platform and talking to each sheep, you step into a confession booth. This is where you answer a question that can be anything from simple everyday activities to ways of life. Depending on what you say, you will be judged good or evil. The gameplay all comes down to choices on saving others as well as yourself. The nightmare comes to an end when you beat the boss stage and find the door that leads out.
Time for the cons and pros of the game
Pros:
-Incredible voice acting
-Memorable story
-Beautiful music
-Fluid gameplay
-Difficulty levels for everyone
-Nine endings
-High replayability
Cons:
-The story is short and can be completed quickly.
-Multiplayer local only.
-Boss stages have set courses.
“Catherine” is truly a masterpiece. Vincent, a guy with no real future, somehow manages to keep his girlfriend, Katherine, for the past five years. The worst part was is that he ends up drinking too much and sleeps with another girl. After that, his life takes a turn for the worse. Following the good path, he tries to get rid of this new girl named Catherine. He honestly doesn’t want Catherine in his life, but every single morning he somehow finds her with him in bed. Slowly, you watch Vincent go from a nobody to a secret hero as he motivates everyone in the bar to push through their problems and to keep pursuing their dreams. Eventually, they all get through everything and live a happy life. The story really is heartwarming, as you get to watch someone gain the motive to do something with their life. Vincent Brooks from zero to hero, truly is a story to remember.
The game can currently be bought for $30 dollars, or $20 on Amazon. In my opinion, it’s worth $20 to me, mostly because of how short the story is. If you don’t have the motive to play through it and get all nine endings, $30 is a little much for a playthrough or two. Regardless, I’d say if you’re looking for a good puzzle game this game is just for you, even if you are new to the genre. Its five difficulties make it perfect for the newest of players or the veterans.
Thanks for reading my review on “Catherine”,if you have any questions or comments leave them below. As always have a good rest of your day/night.
