Golden Playhouse Special Feature

Catherine: Full Body – Heart’s Desire Collection

Genre: Platform Puzzle

Developer: Studio Zero

Publisher: Atlas

Platform(s): Playstation 4, PS Vita

As Plato once put it, “At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet,” unless your name happens to be Vincent Brooks. If that’s the case, at the touch of love, one becomes a sheep.

Catherine Full Body is basically a reworking of the original Catherine from 2011 on the PS3 with a slew of new goodies including online head-to-head, a new Remix version of gameplay, and the introduction of a new character/love interest, Rin. With the introduction of Rin, this gives Full Body several new ending possibilities and in-game cut-scenes that add a good bit of extra gameplay. 

For returning players the $60.00 (USD) price tag may seem a bit much for what’s essentially a reboot, but for returning players (and crazy collector’s) like myself whose heart was stolen by Katherine (or Catherine?) I had to pick up the Heart’s Desire collector’s edition despite the cost. Because, really, who can put a price on love? AND it came with this super a-dork-able plush sheep with heart boxers!

For the newcomers, Catherine is a genre all of its own. Part puzzle, part action, part dating-sim (wait, hear me out!), the game takes you on an emotional rollercoaster that delves deep into the psyche of Vincent Brooks’ relationship with high school sweetheart Katherine.

Before I go any further, let me explain something really quick. There are two Catherine’s; one with a “C” and the other with a “K”. Katherine is Vincent’s current girlfriend whom he is having issues with in taking their relationship to the next level. Catherine, however, is the blonde bombshell that gets thrown into Vincent’s life and pursues a more physical relationship; One without the burden of emotional ties.

The way I see it is this; good Katherine, bad Catherine!

Anyways, back to the story. Catherine, like many of Atlus’ games, truly makes you think. You get asked a slew of moral questions while sitting in a church confessional (ah, don’t ask, just go with it) such as “Can love exist without pain?” Depending on how you answer affects not only the ending you’ll get, but it also changes certain cut-scenes and dialogues during gameplay. This includes how you answer text messages from friends and even the drinks, and how many you have, at the bar.

You're gonna need more than that, Vincent...

Catherine challenges you with moral questions; how will you respond?

Even though Atlus added a new character, the storyline thus far seems pretty on point with the original. Rin’s arc integrates nicely into the current timeline after a chance meeting with our hero. She starts working at the gang’s local hangout, the Stray Sheep, and “conveniently” moves next door to Vincent as his new neighbor, making this love triangle a bit more complicated.

Love story aside, Catherine’s eccentric puzzle gameplay is crazily addicting. When Vincent goes to sleep he is plagued by nightmares, no doubt spurned on by his guilt and confusion during the day.  He wakes as a sheep-man in a sort of limbo before being tossed fully into the nightmare that you must battle your way through in order to make it through the night.

The puzzles consist of pushing and pulling blocks around a giant Jenga-like tower that you must climb to escape. Moving the blocks around allows you to create new steps, ledges, and bridges, all while being wary of intricately placed traps (ice blocks, spikes, etc.) and disappearing blocks. Some levels are a breeze with the path clearly laid out before you while others had my blood pressure skyrocketing and knuckles white from gripping my controller too hard.

I love those levels.

Remix mode throws in some Tetris-like blocks that connect to the current nightmares' blocks. These can either be moved all at once, or some none at all. It adds a little extra challenge to otherwise untouched stages. Full Body also added a retry assist button that can be used by simply hitting the L1 trigger on your controller. This allows you to undo your last move instead of, y'know, plummeting to your death. But there are a limited number of undo's, so use them wisely. 

Catherine's version of a "boss" battle. Climb before it's too late!

Gameplay and mechanics aside, there’s a ton of new music from various Atlus games that you can unlock and play in the Jukebox (including some awesome hits from the Persona series), the Rapunzel arcade game has a new set of levels, and did I mention the online versus mode?

While Catherine from eight years ago maybe an Atlas classic, Full Body adds just enough sugar and spice to rope in returning players with Rin’s added story arc and additional goodies to keep it interesting. And if you’re picking this gem up for the first time? Hoo boy, are you in for a treat!