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CATHERINE
review | PLAYSTATION 3
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Publisher: Deep Silver.
Developer: Atlus. Released: February 2012 (Europe). Genre: Puzzle. Other versions: X360. Posted 17th December 2025. By Shane Battams © 2025 |
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Catherine proved to be one of the most unusual games of the seventh generation, and especially stood out towards the end of the seventh generation. Atlus’ first HD release would see them deviate from their usual JRPG wheelhouse, instead creating something altogether bizarre. An adult puzzler which focuses on a man’s infidelity while escaping nightmarish block-pushing, it’s somewhat surprising it saw the light of day outside of Japan, considering where the games industry was in the 2010s. However, receive a localisation it did, and it’s a good thing too, because Catherine is an engrossing tale with quirky puzzling that keeps you coming back for more punishment.
Vincent Brooks is a systems engineer cruising through life as he prioritises drinking and socialising over ambition, fixing his apartment, or his relationship with Katherine. His life begins to spin out of control when he falls into an affair with a younger lady, Catherine, while also enduring nightmares that leave him physically exhausted. As the lines between reality and fantasy start to blur, Vincent must somehow navigate this twisted situation. Catherine proffers a dark and engrossing tale that carefully studies adult themes such as the fragility of relationships, the insecurities men can feel and the harm caused by infidelity. It helps that characters are bolstered by strong voicework from the likes of Troy Baker, Laura Bailey and Michelle Ruff who give great performances that help you invest in characters, and stand agape as the twists and turns begin to reveal themselves.
Catherine is a truly unusual puzzler, tackling adult themes and providing a fiendish, exciting puzzle experience
Catherine divvies its time between its story and puzzling. During the day, you’ll be placed in the Stray Sheep where you can interact with a handful of Vincent’s friends, each with their own story that plays out during each chapter, as well as a few patrons who end up part of the nightmares. These side stories add even more compelling layers to the already engaging story. Frequent dialogue options affect a morality meter, which sways between red and blue, and where it lies can lead to one of eight endings. You also get texts that you can reply to, and choosing a certain response will also affect said meter, with some leading to further texts. You can also drink alcohol which aids in gameplay, depending on how much you consume. These intermissions don’t feel like stopgaps; they add more to the twisted world Atlus builds.
Once the nightmare begins, Catherine’s puzzling takes over. Across nearly 30 levels, your primary goal is to reach the top of a structure. This requires a combination of block-pushing and climbing, as Vincent can push cubes around to create a path upward. It sounds basic, but there’s a ton of factors which make it much more complex than it seems. Blocks come with a variety of properties that include cracked squares which shatter after repeated use, trap cubes which instantly kill Vincent without quick movement and ice cubes which send Vincent quickly in a direction, including over edges. Other elements include roaming foes which can knock you down or even kill you, boss levels which can wildly change the outlook of a stage and the continuous threat of blocks dropping as time moves forward. Needless to say, this is a challenging puzzler which will often see you perishing.
Once the nightmare begins, Catherine’s puzzling takes over. Across nearly 30 levels, your primary goal is to reach the top of a structure. This requires a combination of block-pushing and climbing, as Vincent can push cubes around to create a path upward. It sounds basic, but there’s a ton of factors which make it much more complex than it seems. Blocks come with a variety of properties that include cracked squares which shatter after repeated use, trap cubes which instantly kill Vincent without quick movement and ice cubes which send Vincent quickly in a direction, including over edges. Other elements include roaming foes which can knock you down or even kill you, boss levels which can wildly change the outlook of a stage and the continuous threat of blocks dropping as time moves forward. Needless to say, this is a challenging puzzler which will often see you perishing.
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Catherine divvies its time between its story and puzzling. During the day, you’ll be placed in the Stray Sheep where you can interact with a handful of Vincent’s friends, each with their own story that plays out during each chapter, as well as a few patrons who end up part of the nightmares. These side stories add even more compelling layers to the already engaging story. Frequent dialogue options affect a morality meter, which sways between red and blue, and where it lies can lead to one of eight endings. You also get texts that you can reply to, and choosing a certain response will also affect said meter, with some leading to further texts. You can also drink alcohol which aids in gameplay, depending on how much you consume. These intermissions don’t feel like stopgaps; they add more to the twisted world Atlus builds.
Once the nightmare begins, Catherine’s puzzling takes over. Across nearly 30 levels, your primary goal is to reach the top of a structure. This requires a combination of block-pushing and climbing, as Vincent can push cubes around to create a path upward. It sounds basic, but there’s a ton of factors which make it much more complex than it seems. Blocks come with a variety of properties that include cracked squares which shatter after repeated use, trap cubes which instantly kill Vincent without quick movement and ice cubes which send Vincent quickly in a direction, including over edges. Other elements include roaming foes which can knock you down or even kill you, boss levels which can wildly change the outlook of a stage and the continuous threat of blocks dropping as time moves forward. Needless to say, this is a challenging puzzler which will often see you perishing.
Once the nightmare begins, Catherine’s puzzling takes over. Across nearly 30 levels, your primary goal is to reach the top of a structure. This requires a combination of block-pushing and climbing, as Vincent can push cubes around to create a path upward. It sounds basic, but there’s a ton of factors which make it much more complex than it seems. Blocks come with a variety of properties that include cracked squares which shatter after repeated use, trap cubes which instantly kill Vincent without quick movement and ice cubes which send Vincent quickly in a direction, including over edges. Other elements include roaming foes which can knock you down or even kill you, boss levels which can wildly change the outlook of a stage and the continuous threat of blocks dropping as time moves forward. Needless to say, this is a challenging puzzler which will often see you perishing.
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Luckily, it’s a mostly engaging series of brainteasers that can be overcome with clever thinking. Landings between stages offer not only a checkpoint and brief respite, but also optional dialogues that gift techniques to help turn the tide. There are also Confessional questions that test your morality, can affect the meter and change with reloaded saves, meaning it poses a ton of questions to resolve. It feels like the appropriate challenge to overcome, with the continuing story being just rewards for your hard work. However, a few difficulty spikes create frustration that’s heightened by control and camera woes. Sticky movement can result in slow responses, which isn’t ideal during faster-paced challenges, while a limited field of view can make tracking Vincent tougher than it should be. Ultimately, these troubles do little to detract from its quality, and the spikes can be overcome with determination.
The Golden Playhouse story mode lasts around 13 hours, depending on your chosen difficulty and how often you get stuck. Easy and Normal offer a rewind option that allows you to backtrack a certain number of times. Extra content is locked through completion and earning Gold medals – though take note, the latter requires pristine runs with unbroken combos and the need to forgo using checkpoints. Colosseum mode lets you play against another for the fastest times, which is as chaotic as you’d expect, as you can sabotage your peer. Babel offers a challenge for experienced players with a handful of levels procedurally generating layouts which require quick reflexes and advanced techniques to overcome, though you can bring another player along cooperatively, which is helpful. There’s also a bonus arcade game called Rapunzel, which offers more block-pushing action, with hundreds of stages. While these all lack the narrative core that the Playhouse offers, they’re enticing for those in sync with Catherine’s odd puzzling.
The Golden Playhouse story mode lasts around 13 hours, depending on your chosen difficulty and how often you get stuck. Easy and Normal offer a rewind option that allows you to backtrack a certain number of times. Extra content is locked through completion and earning Gold medals – though take note, the latter requires pristine runs with unbroken combos and the need to forgo using checkpoints. Colosseum mode lets you play against another for the fastest times, which is as chaotic as you’d expect, as you can sabotage your peer. Babel offers a challenge for experienced players with a handful of levels procedurally generating layouts which require quick reflexes and advanced techniques to overcome, though you can bring another player along cooperatively, which is helpful. There’s also a bonus arcade game called Rapunzel, which offers more block-pushing action, with hundreds of stages. While these all lack the narrative core that the Playhouse offers, they’re enticing for those in sync with Catherine’s odd puzzling.
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Boss fights are as thrilling as they are nightmarish, whilst ethical musings help guide players to one of the many endings
Atlus’ first HD venture proves stylish, offering an anime-influenced presentation which even utilises anime sequences produced by Studio 4⁰C. Cel-shaded characters look great and boast emotive animations including some comedic facial expressions, though others can look a tad stiff with issues with some syncing. That said, the dark stages, which mix serene escaping sheep with brutal torture machines and demonic entities, prove incredibly distinctive. Performance is pretty solid for the most part, bar a few chaotic moments causing some dips though it’s never too noticeable. Some scratchy audio quality aside, the sound is also great. The localisation is really strong here, offering an enjoyable script which balances serious dialogue with dark humour, and committed voice performances only improve things further. The music is also quality, whether it’s the jazzy theme of the Stray Sheep or using Baba Yaga to heighten the tension of boss battles. There are also some sickly sound effects, such as gruesome trap kills.
Catherine remains a game unlike any other: a daring effort which somehow blends adult storytelling, puzzling and a dark sense of humour into an engaging package. Couple this with tons of extra content, a distinctive style and challenging yet satisfying gameplay, and it proves a great experience. Some mechanical stiffness and difficulty spikes mean it isn’t perfect, and these issue may turn away those who struggle to vibe with the quirky block-pushing. But for those after a genuinely unique game, and one which will linger long in the memory, this is definitely worth a try.
Catherine remains a game unlike any other: a daring effort which somehow blends adult storytelling, puzzling and a dark sense of humour into an engaging package. Couple this with tons of extra content, a distinctive style and challenging yet satisfying gameplay, and it proves a great experience. Some mechanical stiffness and difficulty spikes mean it isn’t perfect, and these issue may turn away those who struggle to vibe with the quirky block-pushing. But for those after a genuinely unique game, and one which will linger long in the memory, this is definitely worth a try.
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VERDICT"Despite some mechanical stiffness and difficulty spikes, Catherine remains a daring effort with engaging adult storytelling, challenging yet satisfying gameplay and a distinctive style." OVERALL: 8/10 |
OTHER GAMES OF THE ERA WITH PUZZLE ELEMENTS REVIEWED
Portal 2 (2011, PlayStation 3)
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Little Inferno (2012, Wii U)
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