top of page

Catherine is a cross-genre video game in which players control Vincent Brooks, a man who is tormented by deadly nightmares after becoming involved with multiple women. The gameplay is divided into two parts; daytime social simulation segments where Vincent interacts with various characters at the Stray Sheep bar, and nightmare segments where he navigates deadly block towers using a combination of platforming and puzzle solving.[4][5] The game is split into three modes; the single-player story campaign dubbed "Golden Playhouse", and "Babel". Multiplayer-exclusive "Colosseum" challenge levels are unlocked after first completing the story.[5][6]

The daytime gameplay has Vincent interacting with his girlfriends and other characters in the Stray Sheep bar.[4] During dialogue and text segments, Vincent can choose several options to respond; these include standard dialogue options and composing text messages.[4][7] During his time in the Stray Sheep, Vincent can Purchase drinks which help his navigation of Nightmare stages, but also impede his movement if he has too many.[8][9] He can also play a minigame titled "Rapunzel" which mimics the gameplay in nightmares, or listen to a jukebox containing tracks from other Atlus games.[10] Leaving the Stray Sheep will trigger the next Nightmare section.[9]

The main gameplay takes place in the Nightmare stages. Vincent must climb towers made of blocks, which Vincent must arrange into a stairway to reach the exit. As he climbs, the tower collapses beneath him, and if he fails to arrange the blocks before the collapse reaches him, Vincent will fall and the game ends; he either restarts from the last checkpoint on the tower if Vincent has a pillow item, or the player must restart the game from their last save.[4][5][11] Blocks can be freely pushed and pulled, balanced on the edge of a similar block, and form stairways.[12] In addition to standard blocks, some blocks have additional functions such as springing Vincent higher, and some blocks are lethal traps.[5] Vincent can earn pillows that allow him to retry levels. There are also several items which can be found or purchased in between stages, such as spare blocks, lightning which removes enemies, and energy drinks that allow Vincent to climb more steps at a time.[13]

Completing a stage awards a score based on the time completed and items collected. These are posted on online leader boards accessed from the game's start menu.[14] In addition to the Golden Playhouse mode, Babel Mode features four large stages playable with up to two players, while Colosseum features two players simultaneously playing a stage in order to reach the top first.[6] The game has multiple endings depending on the choices made by the player during the course of the narrative.[7]

Additional elements were added in Full Body.[15] A new mode features rearranged versions of the game's puzzles, with the original game's arrangement featuring as a separate mode.[16] A new online multiplayer mode is also added, where players can enter both a randomised match or a contest with a player of equal rank.[17] New character Rin can be called to halt the tower's collapse for a short time.[3] Players can access a new difficulty level called "Safety", which removes all threats and time limit, and allows players to skip puzzles and continue with the story.

Catherine

$15.99Price
Out of Stock

    Related Items