Hi folks,

When I first read about Catherine I got really excited. But after the game received such mixed reviews (2 stars on Giantbomb) I'm not sure if I should buy it tomorrow. What do you guys who played through the game say? Is it worth getting?

It's a hard game to recommend because most people that have played it have such hard swings either way. You should really try the demo to see if the block pushing is for you. Or read more about what people think of the story to see if it is compelling enough to you.

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

I couldn't get into it, the story seemed like it was going to be the most interesting part, but the box game was really bad and repetitive; rent it first if you can.

Rent it.

Since we're getting it at not-full price, if the demo gameplay of box vertical sokoban works for you, go for it.

definitely deserves more than 2 stars, no matter your taste in games.. it's a solid puzzle game with a unique and compelling story and fleshed-out characters. lengthwise it'll give you enough bang for your buck, and multiple endings give it some replay value. i thought the concept for the puzzle gameplay was pretty cool. it can be extremely difficult, frustrating, and stressful, but this just makes completing a puzzle after losing all hope that much more rewarding. puzzles are kept fresh with the addition of new obstacles and gimmicks in each stage, and are broken up nicely by the bar scenes and that desire to keep the story moving. just look at my pic, it's obvious i thoroughly enjoyed.

I loved it

@Cloudenvy said:

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

I'm with you buddy. I S-Ranked that game.

Its a 8-12 hour experience if you are a block-pushing genius or watch the YouTube guide. If you save strategically you can probably get all the endings too. Depends if you want to adorn it on your game shelf.

[Edit: after that ramble I meant to say rent first then buy at cheaper price to make up the cost of renting if you feel you'd want to play it again]

Great game, and for me it's worth the price and the time i spent.

I would say reviews were mixed. Jeff's was the only bad one I can think of. 
 
Anyway, it was my favourite game last year, but I cannot understate how unlikely it is that it will be yours. I would say get it, but don't expect to love the gameplay. 
 
@MikeGosot said:

@Cloudenvy said:

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

I'm with you buddy. I S-Ranked that game.

@DonutFever said:

I would say reviews were mixed. Jeff's was the only bad one I can think of.

Anyway, it was my favourite game last year, but I cannot understate how unlikely it is that it will be yours. I would say get it, but don't expect to love the gameplay.

@MikeGosot said:

@Cloudenvy said:

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

I'm with you buddy. I S-Ranked that game.

I'm trying to S-Rank it right now. I hate Babel so much for making that difficult.

Try to finish Babel in Co-op. It's harder but i never laughed so much on my life. Also, the reward is fucking weird, seriously.

@DonutFever said:

I would say reviews were mixed. Jeff's was the only bad one I can think of.

Anyway, it was my favourite game last year, but I cannot understate how unlikely it is that it will be yours. I would say get it, but don't expect to love the gameplay.

@MikeGosot said:

@Cloudenvy said:

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

I'm with you buddy. I S-Ranked that game.

I'm trying to S-Rank it right now. I hate Babel so much for making that difficult.

Try to finish Babel in Co-op. It's harder but i never laughed so much on my life. Also, the reward is fucking weird, seriously.

If you like puzzles, then yes. Otherwise no. It is a puzzle game at it's heart after all. If you're like me you'll love the puzzles.

It had flaws, but I really did enjoy it.

@DonutFever said:

@MikeGosot said:

@DonutFever said:

I would say reviews were mixed. Jeff's was the only bad one I can think of.

Anyway, it was my favourite game last year, but I cannot understate how unlikely it is that it will be yours. I would say get it, but don't expect to love the gameplay.

@MikeGosot said:

@Cloudenvy said:

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

I'm with you buddy. I S-Ranked that game.

I'm trying to S-Rank it right now. I hate Babel so much for making that difficult.

Try to finish Babel in Co-op. It's harder but i never laughed so much on my life. Also, the reward is fucking weird, seriously.

Yeah, I heard about that.

After I beat it the first time, I was like "There's no way I'm going to try and Platinum this. That's what a crazy person would do.", and searched it up to see what everyone was talking about.

Catherine was the first game i bought the Special Edition of, so before i played the game, i said to myself "This is it. I will S-Rank this.". When i was at the Ice Stage in Normal i remember saying "THIS IS INSANE! WHAT KIND OF SICK FUCK WOULD GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS WITHOUT DYING!?".

You have to like Japanese stuff, not just because it's weird

@killacam said:

definitely deserves more than 2 stars, no matter your taste in games.. it's a solid puzzle game with a unique and compelling story and fleshed-out characters.

I gotta disagree with you there....

OP, stay far away from Catherine.

I really enjoyed Catherine, but I know this game is not for everyone, not even most people, I think it's got a niche market and if you're into puzzle games AND the story style of Atlus games, then I can safely say you'll probably enjoy Catherine. I will warn you I occasionally had a few camera problems, but aside from that the game was really entertaining.

There are parts that aren't great about the game, but at the end of the day do you love Atlus games or puzzle games? If so Catherine is for you, if not then don't bother.

I had the opposite reaction myself. I saw the previews and some of the trailer's game play and asked myself, "This looks repetitive, pointless, and a tad creepy." I had a friend who played it and let me borrow the game and I can honestly say that I have about 60 hours logged on it now, almost all the endings unlocked, attempting to get perfect on every level that it is decent. Yes would I like the game to involve more game play outside of dream-scape? OH YES! I feel that Atlus seriously needs to take the positives Catherine has with actual game play outside, as well as inside the bar. If you like a challenge, do not mind repetitive noises and ideas, slight askew camera malfunctions, and a game play the is partially relevant to game play then yes Catherine is a good game.

WHAT?! I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THIS.

I'm off!

Don't buy this game, it is a horrendous excuse for a video game. It's only redeeming quality is the novel facts about alcohol you will learn from it. People that say this game is good are bad people. I am not exaggerating.

It's a great game, one of my favourites of 2011. Story is pretty fun, characters aren't the deepest but I enjoyed my time with them. I never really got tired of the puzzle gameplay, at least it's something different. I recommend Pushmo on 3DS if you like Catherine.

@david3cm said:

People that say this game is good are bad people. I am not exaggerating.

lolok

@david3cm said:

Don't buy this game, it is a horrendous excuse for a video game. It's only redeeming quality is the novel facts about alcohol you will learn from it. People that say this game is good are bad people. I am not exaggerating.

the fact that there are 295 other posts by you out there makes me hopeless in so many ways.

I absolutely loved it, the block portion of the game grew on me after the second night.

@InfiniteGeass said:

If you like puzzles, then yes. Otherwise no. It is a puzzle game at it's heart after all. If you're like me you'll love the puzzles.

Ok so I loved Portal, but the puzzle aspect was the worst part abut that game, I played through it for the amazing storytelling. Is the storytelling really good in Catharine?

I played it for the story but used youtube for all the puzzles because after a while i got tired of blocks. Normal difficulty and plenty of UNDOs later and I have beat every level with a gold trophy. Working on ending achievements and Rapunzel stuff but it could be a long weekend rental.

I finished Catherine, and I agree with Jeff and recently, Vinny. The block puzzles and the game overall had a temporary appeal because it was different, but I got bored after a handful of hours.

It was hard for me to continue when all the characters but the waitress were assholes.

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

While Jeff is a great reviewer, he really misfired on his review of Catherine. Perhaps it was a bad day at the office? This game is far from perfect and the appeal I will concede is hit or miss, but a game that talks about life, relationships, and has challenging puzzles with some creepiness and gore thrown in, makes for one awesome original IP and a rock solid gaming experience.

I can understand going with the rental option, but people calling this a bad to mediocre game really ought to second guess themselves.

Hey guys, I know it's been said before, but THIS GAME IS HARD WTF.

The limited continues are so annoying, I really don't mind beating my face against the wall until either breaks, but having to go back to the main menu every once in a while is just frustrating.

I don't really see how they add to the challenge either, is it just because of the checkpointing? I wouldn't mind starting from the beginning if I could do it as many times as I needed.

@Cloudenvy said:

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

I'm with you <3

I brought this game for around 20 dollars, and personally for me that was the sweet spot. There wasn't enough content in the game to keep me playing for more than 8 hours, and by the end of it I never wanted to see another block moving puzzle for at least a month. That said, I thought everything surrounding that game mechanic was beautifully executed, right down to the user interface.

@chan05:

I'm from Europe too but bought the game in the US a few months prior to it's EU release.

Catherine is really a matter of taste game.

I never really played a game like this before and find it to be rather unusual/unique which is probably why it received so many mixed reviews.

Roughly the game consists of two major parts: The story progression scenes and the puzzle gameplay.

So I'd say this game is for you when you:

- enjoy story-driven games with a focus more on plot and characters than gameplay

- enjoy puzzle games where you have to think and react rather than doing combat

It also helps if you like anime, since there are a lot of animated scenes.

I, personally, enjoyed the game but would anyone who is unsure recommend to either rent it first or download a demo if available.

@TobbRobb said:

Hey guys, I know it's been said before, but THIS GAME IS HARD WTF.

The limited continues are so annoying,

You do earn more you know. I had 99 of them by the time I reached the last level.

Guys, I don't know where you're getting the idea that Catherine's story is good, 'cause it really isn't.

@cstrang said:

Guys, I don't know where you're getting the idea that Catherine's story is good, 'cause it really isn't.

ITT, opinions.

Do you like anime soap operas? Get it.

Do you like puzzle games? Get it.

That's all there is to it.

@QuistisTrepe said:

@cstrang said:

Guys, I don't know where you're getting the idea that Catherine's story is good, 'cause it really isn't.

ITT, opinions.

Didn't you just earlier in this thread say Jeff misfired on his review and tried to come up with an excuse for it? Then proceeded to say that people that think the game is bad or mediocre should second guess themselves? Now you are throwing the opinion card out there?

Maybe wait for it to fall in price? Kind of wish I had done that, even though I did like the game well enough.

@laserbolts said:

@QuistisTrepe said:

@cstrang said:

Guys, I don't know where you're getting the idea that Catherine's story is good, 'cause it really isn't.

ITT, opinions.

Didn't you just earlier in this thread say Jeff misfired on his review and tried to come up with an excuse for it? Then proceeded to say that people that think the game is bad or mediocre should second guess themselves? Now you are throwing the opinion card out there?

You can dislike something while still recognizing its merits. I don't see the big deal about Uncharted, but I can understand why so many people do. See the distinction?

It's an awesome puzzle game. A lot of people will tell you that it's hard, or that the puzzles drag on, or that they're unfair and the worst part of the game. I'm saying fuck those guys. If you want to stroll through and see the story, play on Easy, but if you want to actually try and wrap your head around some goddamn puzzles, that's what the rest of the game is there for. It's fast paced without rushing you too much, it's got deceptively simple mechanics- disarmingly simple, even. If you take your time, don't panic, and you use what the game teaches you when appropriate, you'll do awesome. You know, the way puzzles are supposed to work. It's probably got some of the most fun and engrossing gameplay of last year in those Nightmare stages, and the ludicrous Babel challenges.

Too many people think that difficult means badly designed these days. If it doesn't make you use your goddamn brain, it's not a good puzzle. Catherine delivers on that. If there are any missteps, I would say they're in the story- I could go on for days about various things in the story that I didn't like, but It's still pretty great. It's a good look at some interesting subject matter, it has fantastic side characters, and even if I wasn't 100% satisfied with the way the decisions you can make actually effect the game- i.e. not nearly as much as you'd think at first glance- I still consider it amazing. I recommend it heartily.

@chan05: well it depends on the person. But before you go out and get Catherine go play the demo first. To see if you like it or not.

@Cloudenvy said:

I loved pretty much everything about Catherine, but that opinion is probably pretty rare.

yep, same here, i really think 2 out of 5 is unfair, i loved everything about catherine

jeff says the problem with the game is not the difficulty but the repetitive nature of the puzzles, euhm what is it you do for 8 hours in a First person shooter? You shoot dudes in the face for 8 hours. or you spent 500 hours doing the same online. I usually agree with giantbomb, and I repsect jeff's opinion about catherine but 2 out of 5 is just not a fair score. Catherine is in my top 5 of 2011's games,