Catherine is the most important game released in 2011 so far, and one of the most polarizing games released in a long, long time.
Sun, August 21, 2011 by Morgan Catherine is the most important game released in 2011 thus far. I am glad ATLUS released Catherine
in the barren summer as opposed to the onslaught that has become the holiday gaming season. This gives us all time to admire her greatness and give Catherine the attention she rightfully deserves before she is surely overshadowed by uncharted 3, Skyrim, Battlefield 3, and a host of other triple AAA titles set to be released later this year. Catherine follows a young man vincent and his relationship triangle with both catherine (with a C) and Katherine ( with a K).Labeled by its creators as a romatic/horror/puzzle game, catherine is one of the most polarizing games released in quite a long time.
I find it interesting that most reviews for Catherine tend to start off with " you have never played anything quite like Catherine". We live in quite the jaded society so it is remarkably interesting to see something truly unique unleashed within our gaming realm. Although unique doesn't always necessarily mean "high quality" or "good game" and that's exactly why Catherine is such a polarizing experience. Catherine weighs in at roughly an 82% in both metacritic and gamerankings. A very high score, but nothing mind blowing. When you glance at the actual review scores you will see an interesting discrepancy. Cream of the crop gaming sites like 1up, ign, and gamespot all gave the game extremely high marks. While other mega gaming sites like giant bomb,and game informer gave the game fairly low scores dragging down the overall average.
Games this divisive are not only usually the most memorable games , but they are also the most interesting games to discuss.
I believe Catherine is the most important game released this year so far because each unique layer of the game works together in perfect harmony to provide a truly unforgettable experience. The gameplay is strange, crazy addicting and brutal, but it works in the context of the story and what vincent is going through. The music is off kilter and engaging (definitely the work of Shōji Meguro of persona fame) and it compliments the mood and atmosphere of the game perfectly. The story is as twisted and philosophical ( not to mention biblical) as it is absurd. The entire game is bat shit crazy in a good way (much like the revered persona series from the same creators).The game also looks top notch as far as production values go, and i think most persona fans would agree that if persona 5 looks this good throughout a 40 plus hour rpg epic then we are in for a real treat.
Externally a naysayer might proclaim " All you do in Catherine is wander around a bar, watch cutscenes, and run through puzzle gauntlets". Technically this is true. What is often overlooked however, is the layer of depth to each section. Lets take the bar for example. The Bar is your safe haven from the nightmares you face each evening. A place of solace from the psychological hell vincent endures each night. To be blunt, vincent is going through some deep shit. His life as he knew it in many ways is starting to unravel before our eyes. Lucky for us this is all bloody entertaining to watch.When actually controlling vincent in the bar players can drink a few beers (which affect his stats in the puzzle portions later) converse with the patrons concerning throughout the ebbs and flow of the story. Players can also walk up to an old arcade machine in the bar and play a retro homage to the block puzzle gameplay of Catherine referred to metaphorically as "repunzal". You can check your phone for text messages (preferably dirty ones from Catherine with a C of course) or maybe you want to stroll over to the jukebox and play any one of the games fantastic musical tracks you have unlocked in the game up until that point.
Catherine is a very dense game, and a strong representation of quality over quantity. Each portion of the game has tons of depth and layers of of personality and charm. The story itself spirals in 8 different directions as the game has 8 different endings the player can experience.
The block puzzles are the glue that hold the entire game together of course and they are also the games most divisive element. The block puzzles make up the majority of your gameplay experience. Although my initial reaction was one of confusion, once i realized how the gameplay worked i was hooked. The puzzles truly are as unique as they had been touted to be by the gaming media. Although to be fair to call them puzzles is a bit..demeaning. Nintey nine percent of puzzle games available on the market offer the gamer one solution, or maybe a slight variance on that one solution. Catherine is diferent. You can scale and climb the walls of vincents nightmares however you damn well please. If you watched ten people play Catherine i guarantee you they would all be scaling the wall completely differently, and the game has a ton of flexibility in how you can scale the walls as well. Its brutally difficult at times, especially toward the latter portions of the game. You will die hundreds of times....hundreds. However much like super meat boy death is simply a part of the gameplay experience and jumping right back into the gameplay is fairly quick and painless. Also the gamers offers a healthy checkpoint system and an Easy difficulty(for wimps like myself).
Im glad Catherine is selling well so far ( Atlus announced it was their biggest launch ever shipping 200,000 copies first week) because games like Catherine are better for our industry as a whole. They encourage bravery in game design and thinking outside of the box, without sacrificing personality, or quality. Catherine even steps over the mighty portal 2 for best puzzle game of the year in sheer execution and freshness. Perhaps the story wont draw you in personally, or maybe the game is just too difficult for your tastes. I can understand that. But gamers that do enjoy catherine need to remember this game at the end of the year when publishers shove sequel after sequel down our throats.
Of course this is all hypothetical. Its still early and there are alot of great games left to be released this year, but lets show catherine a little love while we can.
