![]() ![]() I was actually impressed with the learning curve in the game, which allows for players to intuit new strategies for climbing the blocks as well as outright teaching “techniques” that demonstrate effective tactics one can use. The ultimate goal of each puzzle is to reach the top of a large tower of blocks by pushing, pulling, and climbing them in increasingly more byzantine ways as the bottom of the tower slowly falls apart. For example, a successful businessman is chased by a monstrous form of his late father who never accepted him.Īside from the aforementioned visual novel portions of the game, the bulk of the gameplay takes place during Vincent’s nightmares and the puzzles the player must surmount to see him safely to the next morning. The monstrosities chasing them in their nightmares all vary based on the struggles they have. Much like Persona, managing your time and speaking with these men in the bar Vincent frequents, as well as in the nightmares themselves, will ultimately affect their fate consistent interaction is needed to hear each of their stories to the end. There are also some surprising twists towards the end that bring the story a bit more into the “over the top” level that I personally enjoy, while maintaining grounding in the central story of Vincent and those around him.Īnother intriguing part of the story, similar to Social Links in Persona, was getting to know the other men who were also struggling in the nightmares. It was fun, in particular, to see the SMT “brand” of order/chaos choices brought down from the level of post-apocalyptic struggles for humanity often seen in those titles to that of one man’s life. All in all, I felt like I had very little agency in choosing what Vincent would do (which led me to my overall feeling that he was a fairly ineffectual protagonist), but as I got towards the end of the game it became clear my decisions were having an impact. At first, I was not particularly impressed with the system as it seemed very direct. The game makes it clear that these decisions are affecting the player’s alignment via a devil/angel gauge that appears when you choose something. ![]() things like “Are white lies ok sometimes?”) as well as interactions with other characters, including with Katherine/Catherine/Rin via text messages. The game allows the player control over this in two main ways: through direct questions asked during the puzzle sections (e.g. Oh, and by the way, when I say the game tells this story, I mean that literally - the entire game is presented as a story within a TV program with cute touches like a perpetual logo in the top left of the screen.īeing that Catherine was made by Atlus, the developers of Shin Megami Tensei (SMT), it’s not surprising that player choices affect the outcome for Vincent and that a sort of “alignment” system is used. Rin is fairly smoothly inserted into the story of the original Catherine and allows the player even more options for forming relationships which can drastically change the story. Newly added to the Full Body version is a completely new character, Rin, an amnesiac who Vincent finds and grows closer to as the game goes on. It is amidst this backdrop that Vincent must navigate both the increasingly complex puzzles of his nightmares as well as the ever-murkier relationship between himself, Katherine, and Catherine as he tries to decide (based on the player’s choices) what he wants. It’s established early on that those who fail to survive the nightmares end up dead in real life. As the story progresses it becomes clear that the nightmares Vincent is having, which are in actuality the puzzle parts of the game, are also affecting men he knows as well as others across society. This is only compounded when Vincent encounters the young and carefree Catherine and begins an affair. Along with the beginning of these nightmares come problems in Vincent’s relationship with his longtime girlfriend Katherine, who is clearly hinting at marriage and settling down while Vincent is unsure about the future. Vincent begins suffering from nightmares that involve him and other sheep-like creatures climbing a seemingly endless tower of blocks in order to escape some unspeakable presence that is chasing them. The main story is short but has multiple endings to enjoy, and there are additional challenges that await determined players.Ĭatherine: Full Body tells the story of Vincent Brooks, a man in his mid-thirties who seems to be at a turning point in his life. The game presents a unique mix of visual novel and puzzle gaming, with a distinctive puzzling setup supported by a fair learning curve. A remake of Atlus’ original Catherine, released in 2011, the game aspires to improve and expand on that title while keeping the core gameplay intact. Catherine: Full Body is an interesting beast. ![]()
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