Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent puzzle game with a sexually charged story.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Catherine
What's It About?
Vincent is a man with serious woman problems in CATHERINE, a Japanese romance adventure game presented in anime style. Our hero spends his days dealing with his loving girlfriend, a professional woman named Katherine who wants to get married, and a mistress who appears out of the blue with the improbably similar name Catherine. His relationship quandaries take surprisingly violent shape at night, when he has nightmares that see him climbing a series of seemingly never-ending towers by sliding blocks into position to become stairways. One misstep or wrong move and he could be eviscerated by a trap or torn apart by giant monsters chasing him from below.
Is It Any Good?
As bizarre as the setup may seem, Catherine is a surprisingly polished and compelling experience. The story explores the well-trodden ground of a man afraid of commitment in an unusual way by making him deal with his indecisiveness in life-threatening nightmares. It doesn't hurt that players get to enjoy some truly clever (and twisted) block puzzle action along the way.
That said, it suffers a few notable issues. The movement controls for the puzzle sections can be both finicky and unintuitive, and the decisions that players make often affect the game's morality meter in unpredictable ways (when asked whether we preferred older or younger romantic partners we chose older, only to see the meter pointer move toward the red "devil" side). However, mature players who enjoy challenging puzzle games and like a grown-up story that tackles adult problems should be well served.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the depiction of women in games. Can you think of examples of strong female characters who aren't objectified?
Families can also discuss the dynamics of relationships between boys and girls. Do you treat people differently based on their gender?
Game Details
- Platforms : PlayStation 3 , Windows , Xbox 360
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Atlus
- Release date : July 26, 2011
- Genre : Puzzle
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : January 18, 2025
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