The personal life of Vincent is thrown into chaos. Can you help him overcome the blocks in his life?
This is the start of a bad period for Vincent. He starts worrying about marrying Katherine (who is pushing it a bit), and then, something weird happens... In his dream (or we should say: "nightmare"), he's suddenly in front of a huge wall. A voice tells him he has to climb to the top, because the structure's lowest level falls down after a short amount of time!
And that's how the game starts. Catherine is a puzzle game where you have to reach the top of the structure by climbing, pulling blocks, hanging from them, and using your wits. It sounds easy, but I can assure you: it's not. Sure, the first levels are a breeze, where you usually only have to pull one block out to climb up, but later in the game, the levels become serious brainbusters. And it quickly becomes apparent that if you fall to your death in this dream, you die in the real world!
In the daytime, things are not much better. Vincent is drinking away his worries in his usual bar, The Stray Sheep, when a sexy blonde girl sits next to him. To his surprise (and horror, even) he wakes up next to her the following morning! He blames the booze, because he can't even remember, but the tone for the game is set.
Vincent is a guy who is very happy with his life as it is. He doesn't want anything to change, so cheating on his girlfriend really makes him feel extremely bad. And all the time, she's pushing him to finally pop the question, something he's not even remotely comfortable with.
In the bar, you can interact with other people, and doing that reveals he's not the only one having those weird dreams either. So what is going on? Talking to people can influence the game in more than one way: you can help them find peace with themselves, which makes them more likely to survive the nightmares. It's also a way to influence your own morality: from time to time, your answer changes a meter, pushing you more towards order or chaos. This does not mean "good" or "evil", however, as Vincent is actually not a bad guy. He's just having a very weird time and he's prone to indecision.
As the story develops, you actually might start to feel bad for him. Katherine is really starting to be a female dog (if you know what I mean), and the other girl, named Catherine with a "C" (!) keeps seducing him ande wanting to be with him. She even sends him sexy texts, to which you can reply as well. His friends try to help, but it's obvious he's in over his head.
So what's really going on? Why is Vincent subjected to those nightmares? What's the link between him and the others in there? What about the rumours you hear in the bar? Why does every human in the nightmare world look like a sheep, except for you? And what's with those ants???
A LOT of questions, in other words, and to find the answers, you'll need to climb. As you progress in the nightmare world, it gets harder and harder. Special blocks start to appear as well: traps that kill you if you stand too long on them, unmovable blocks, exploding blocks, ice blocks, and many more. Getting to the top can be a nerve wracking experience, even more so because of the falling bottom! Take too long to think it through, and you might not have enough time left to pull and/or push the blocks where you want them.
The boss levels are even worse, with special attacks from the horror that is chasing you up the tower. Apart from falling, the montrous nightmare has attacks that can instantly kill you as well, if you're not careful or fast enough.
So, as you have deducted by now: Catherine is a difficult puzzler. Even on easy, you can expect to feel panic while scaling the high wall. Between levels, though, you find the other sheep taking a break and discussing techniques. Listening to them can really help you find new ways to climb, but not all of them are there to help.Some might even appear in levels to try and push you off!
Lastly, before you can go to the next part, a mysterious person in a confessional gives you a single question. This question is different every time and, although it has no bearing on the game, it will change the meter I mentioned before. It's also fun to see what other players answered. "If there was absolutely no way a lie you tell would be revealed, would you still lie?" And then you see more than 75% answered "no". Yeah, right. Liars :-P
The intro takes a long time, but once the game starts, it really grows on you. You want to find out what's going on, and why. You can steer Vincent towards the sexy Catherine, or try to keep him with the oppresive (and face it: bitchy) Katherine. And I can assure you: one knock at his door will make you go: "oh my god!"
The game really sucks you into Vincent's life, and you really want to help him. He's really not that bad, so you feel he doesn't really deserve this, even if he did cheat on his ball and chain. I mean girlfriend! For people who like some mystery and hard puzzles, and don't mind some stress, I can very much recommend this game. The artwork is something to get used to, and the lip sync is horrible, but other than that, Catherine is a really enjoyable game that will keep you hooked for hours.