First Upcoming Review: Catherine.

There are so many promising games coming up that I can’t wait to play, but at the top of this list is Catherine. Out July 26th, I already have my copy reserved to be at my door that day.

If someone tries to sue Atlus over this game because they didn’t know there were “sexual themes,” I will simply direct their attention to the cover art they somehow overlooked. This is certainly not a game for your 6 year old, but it’s also definitely not a lewd Leisure Suit Larry knock-off.

Made by the same creators of the very well respected Persona series, Catherine will likely be one of the first games to address the theme of sexual fidelity and temptation in a way that is on par with great literature. The writers of the Persona series are well-known for their ability to create dynamic, flawed, and interesting characters and I can’t wait to see what they do with this; their first modern generation console game.

The basic premise we know so far: Vincent, a 30 year old guy with commitment issues, is coming under pressure from his girlfriend Katherine (that’s with a “K”) who wants to take the next step in their relationship and settle down. Uncertain if he’s ready, he spends a night drinking at the local bar with some friends and drowns his uncertainty in frothy goodness. Still not ready to go home, his friends leave him at the bar to think over his dilemma. Not long after a new visitor to the bar, a girl named Catherine (now it’s with a “C”) approaches him. Liquored up and uninhibited, he wakes up the next morning in his bed with no recollection of what happened over the previous night, but lying next to him is none other than the beautiful blonde bombshell he met at the bar.

From here we engage in a tense romantic drama, making decisions for Vincent day by day as he struggles with his commitment to his girlfriend, and the potential infidelity he committed with this new alluring girl. At night, we engage with the games core gameplay: A block-tower puzzle that Vincent is apparently caught in against his will. Add in a back story of recent deaths around town occurring among young men while they’re asleep, and you quickly realize that this nightmare Vincent must survive each night is a straight-out-of-Nightmare-on-Elm-Street fight for his life.

With a very unusual storyline rarely seen in any video game, and a challenging, psychological puzzle maze, Catherine is set-up to be one of the most genre breaking games to be released in a long-long time. I certainly hope it lives up to all the hype, I can’t wait to play. Stay tuned starting July 26th to read ongoing progress reports as I make my way through the game, ending with a spoiler-tastic review dissecting all the strengths and weaknesses that this game delivers.