Review: Catherine

Catherine is best described as the love child of an anime soapie and a puzzle game - it is definitely a game like no other.

Strangely, the anime-style graphics are coupled with adult themes like infidelity and pregnancy scares, while the core of the game is a hardcore block puzzler.

Players assume the role of Vincent Brooks, a regular 30-something-year-old in a long-term relationship with Katherine (spelt with a 'K'). She has been pushing Vincent towards marriage but he is unwilling to commit. One night, he meets a blonde bombshell in the form of Catherine (spelt with a 'C') and, after a night of drunken debauchery, Vincent wakes up overwhelmed with guilt.

To make the situation worse, when Vincent goes to sleep, he is sent into a nightmare landscape. This is the playable portion of the game. In every nightmare, Vincent has to climb a tower of blocks by pushing them back and forth and making a path upward. Simultaneously, the bottom of the tower falls away, adding time pressure to the climb. As the levels progress, the addition of various types of blocks, such as ice blocks, spike traps and spring pads, make for very challenging puzzles.

Each night there are typically three or four levels. Between these levels, players arrive at a landing area where they can save the game and interact with other victims. Players have to answer questions about their infidelity in a 'confessional' before being allowed to advance to the next level. Also, the final sublevel of the night has a boss battle. The levels get increasingly difficult as players progress, unfortunately to the point of frustration. Even though there is an undo option, the puzzles are still incredibly difficult and repetitive.

After the successful completion of the tower puzzles, Vincent wakes up from his dream with only a vague recollection of the night's events. After the end of each day, Vincent meets his friends in the local bar. Players are able to walk around the bar and engage with the patrons, and the manner in which players respond to conversations and text messages determines Vincent's 'alignment' (in other words, his tendency towards either chaos or order). Vincent's alignment and how players answer the confessional questions in the dream realm will determine how the story concludes - the game has eight distinctive endings.

Catherine tells the story of a regular guy growing and taking responsibility in his personal life. While the puzzle gameplay remains challenging throughout, at times, players feel like they're just watching an anime soapie.

I found the story a little too over the top and the continuous 'climb the tower' puzzles repetitive and boring. Unfortunately, the payoff is not worth the reward of seeing the end of the story.