Welcome to Storyview, the review show that appraises a video game's story. Today, we're looking at Catherine. This video will contain spoilers from the first hour of the roughly 8 hour game.
Plot
The plot of Catherine is nothing if not unique. Vincent, a middle aged guy, is in a long term relationship with his girlfriend Kathrine, that’s Kathrine with a k - that'll be important later. She wants marriage while he…doesn’t. His friends tell him a strange rumor, that if you fall in a dream, and don’t wake up before you hit the ground – you die in real life. That night Vincent has a nightmare – a dream that he’s chased by a terrible monster where the only escape is to climb a block tower. in this strange nightmare, sheep climb with him. They tell Vincent that if he reaches the top of the 8 story tower he’ll be free. After climbing the first story, he wakes up from his nightmare – only to find a strange women in his bed. Vincent suddenly remembers that he had too much to drink last night and ended up bringing this girl home. This new girl’s name is also Catharine, with a c instead of a k. Thus, starts Vincent’s story of keeping the two Catherine/Kathrine a secret from each other. Like I said earlier – it is unique, you are never going to find a story like it. Catherine does have a strong opening, the tension of Vincent's double life is compelling at first, but it never grows from there. The plot quickly get slogged down by too few plot points that end up mattering. the plot grinds to a screeching halt by the middle of the game before a big reveal in the game’s final hours – but that reveal takes a left into crazy town and forgets to buy a return ticket. It’s an interesting idea the game has for a twist, but not one that succeeds in its execution.
Writing
I will say that the writing of Catherine is it's strongest aspect. While most of the time it sounds naturalish, there's sometimes when it's pretty off. For example, near the start of the game a waitress tells you "it's just a rumor, or not?". It sounds so weird in English. Catherine does redeem itself with effectiveness of using swear words. When the friends talk to each other, it sounds just how adult friends might talk. It is also cool to get to know the other bar patrons during your time. Each one has their own story that you can learn about - if you put in the time. While the amount of characters in the game is quite small, it is nice that each of them is fairly fleshed out. on top of that, There's actually some interesting issues discussed throughout the story as well. The idea of whether men should marry just because that’s what's expected of them. The differences between how men and women view marriage. Commitment in relationships. How cheating affects a relationship. Catherine actually has some interesting things to say about these topics at the start of the game, but less so as the game moves on.
Voice Acting
Voice Acting is a very mixed bag. Vincent’s voice actor Troy Baker does an excellent job – he’s definitely the best in game. That is a good thing considering you’ll be hearing his voice the most out of anyone by far. On the other side, both the Catherines give a fairly mediocre performance. The other characters are kind of a mixed bag as well – most are passable – some are not.
Immersion
Immersion is not a strong point in Catherine. The story unfolds more like a movie – broken by game play sections each night. The only place in the entire game you actually can explore is a tiny bar. You can drink and talk to patrons in the bar and that’s it. Sure, certain things change based on who you talk to each day but it isn't enough to make the world feel real. They do try and add small touches like dialog options, or being able to write semi-custom text messages to the ladies in the game. But overall these gimmicks get stale after the first few hours. All these small touches do is affect a "morality" meter that decides which of the multiple endings you will get at the end of the game. we see other locales in cutscenes during the game, why can't we explore those too? Worse that that might be the character’s facial features while they're talking. While occasionally really funny, they're also incredibly distracting. There isn't a smooth transition from one expression to the next, and the expressions always seem to change too late or too early and sometimes don't match what the character is saying at all. This is compounded by the fact that the lip syncing is abysmal. The characters don't even look close to saying their English lines. Sometimes Vincent will say things with his mouth not moving at all. It all makes for a very distracting experience.
Conclusion
Catherine is a game I feel had potential to tell an interesting story about the idea of marriage and commitment in relationships. Instead, Catherine ditches these ideas at the end in favor of a crazy ending. The lack of effort in localization as well as very few things to immerse you into the world means that the story of Catherine doesn't live up to what it could have been.