Catherine: Full Body

Atlus has released a great package for a title that probably didn't get as much love as it should have back when it first launched. From the puzzles, stylistic choices, and storyline Catherine: Full Body holds up even while it's closing in on its ninth anniversary. This is a unique game that's riveting throughout, I recommend it for newcomers and returning players alike.

Catherine: Full Body has aged like the finest of wines. For fans of the story, the new characters and plot threads fold in fantastically after an awkward start, and they're coupled with a wealth of new dialogue and beautifully animated cutscenes. For fans of the gameplay, new remixed levels and difficulty options add brand new challenges for even the most hardcore Catherine enthusiasts, and with support for the game's niche competitive scene to boot. And if you've never played the game before, all of these additions make an already classic video game even more of a must-play experience.

Catherine is a timeless classic, and Full Body does a great job of adding meaningful new content and plenty of small tweaks that breathe fresh life into it. It’s the perfect entry point for those who missed the 2011 original. It may be a little too familiar for those who already experienced everything Catherine had to offer eight years ago, but there’s still value to be had with Rin’s excellent story arc, remix mode, online multiplayer, and plethora of new puzzles.

Catherine: Full Body takes the 2011 cult classic to the next level. With new story elements, remixed stages, and compelling characters, this title is sure to satisfy old fans and newcomers alike.

Those problems feel fairly minor, however. Catherine: Full Body is as much of a joy to play as it ever has been. If you’re wanting to play on a big TV, the PS4 version of the game is the clear way to go, but getting absorbed in the game’s excellent narrative or sinking your teeth into a puzzle is hugely rewarding in handheld mode. You’re not going to regret picking it up on Switch, put it that way.

Originally released in 2011, Catherine became a cult classic due to its oddities and innovation. Part visual novel and part block puzzler, gamers fell head over heels for Catherine. With several new additions and improvements, Atlus has released Catherine: Full Body, but will this be a loving stroll down memory lane or a painful and forgettable fling?

With Catherine: Full Body, it feels like Atlus was trying to find an acceptable midpoint between remake and remaster. As a remake, its success depends entirely on whether or not players choose to follow Rin’s route. If they do, then the story changes at least feel justified, even if one doesn’t actually like where that story thread goes. If they don’t choose Rin, though, then the whole exercise winds up feeling entirely pointless. As a remaster, however, Catherine: Full Body is successful. The game looks and sounds great, its new remix mode offers refreshing challenges to player both old and n...

Out of necessity of reviewing the new content, this review contains spoilers for the new “Rin” Route in Catherine: Full Body! If you don’t want spoilers, come back later when you’ve finished the game! The spoiler-free take? It’s a largely appealing game hampered by some mean-spirited and poor writing choices that undermine many of the very things the game is trying to do.

Still one of the few video games to deal with love and relationships in anything like a realistic manner, but the attempts to shoehorn in an extra new character fall flat.

Catherine: Full Body didn't really change my opinion on Catherine all that much.  I'm still as conflicted as I was in 2011 with a love for the art style and weirdness of the game.  The uninspired puzzles that make up the rest of it wear out their welcome too quickly though.

The Persona team's puzzle-romance horror returns for a PlayStation 4 makeover.

Catherine: Full Body remains a bizarre, but enjoyable, adventure that asks a lot of questions about life without providing many answers. That’s fine; some of the best fiction lets the audience make up their own mind about what it all means. But the game itself seems to be stretching toward an ideal that it sometimes undercuts with its own writing and characterization, leaving an experience that mirrors Vincent himself: messy, uncomfortable, and always falling short of its potential.