Catherine: Full Body Review: Always Insightful, Always Disturbing

CatherineVincent Brooks is a man in his thirties who has been hit by a brick wall in his life.

Vincent's fear and indecision are the result of a romantic relationship that has become obsolete. His girlfriend wants to get married, but he is not so sure. Vincent wants everything to stay as before – it's a lot more comfortable as well – and this immature reaction to the world forces him to the edge of the abyss. He begins to have nightmares caused by all this stress and, according to the news, young men in his city are dying in their sleep. Could both situations be linked in one way or another?

Soon, Vincent is placed in the middle of what was once a love triangle – and is now a square of love – between himself; Katherine, his five-year-old girlfriend; Catherine, a mysterious woman who seems to be interested as much in Vincent as in him; and Rin, an amnesiac that Vincent saves from a stalker.

This is an old news for fans who have played the original of 2011. And there are many reasons for these fans to come back for a second part of the game in 2019. Catherine developer Atlus has extended and edited the game in Catherine: complete body, an updated version of the PlayStation 4 that now offers 13 endings, new levels, new music, another love interest, and many more … while remaining familiar and comfortable for existing fans. New players will simply enjoy a game much more complete and better realized than the original version.

But the game still has a dark belly where infidelity, freedom, sexuality, marriage and an obsessive look at gender mingle in a troubling but powerful mix that Catherine: complete body difficult to look away, even if it makes you uncomfortable. Just like the original.

Oh yes, and for those who did not know it: it's a puzzle game.

Mount your demons

CatherineVincent's nightmares stem from his deepest and most pressing fears.

Each night, Vincent must climb a wall of floating boxes to access a platform that will bring him back to the real world. But climbing is not necessarily easy. To arrive at salvation, you will have to push and pull boxes to create an accessible path. Two boxes are too tall to climb, but Vincent manages to reach the top of a single box. Organizing the boxes to make sure it can climb can be a challenge, especially for higher difficulty levels of the game. There is also a time limit; the boxes will start to fall if you wait too long.

Each step includes a number of levels that you must complete to reach the final exit, namely a unique door that will wake you from sleep when you cross it. There is often a fear that acts almost like a boss battle on the last level of each stage. These fears could be Vincent's girlfriend, a baby, a fiancée or even himself. Each fear is designed to be gnarled and uncomfortable: Katherine's blue and rotten fingers can tear Vincent in two, for example. It's the perfect motivation to get out of hell … well, hell. Or at least, Vincent's version of hell.

The original game required you to solve each level if you wanted to continue the story, but Catherine: complete body includes a "Auto" feature on Easy Mode that lets you watch Vincent climb if you play mostly for the story or if you stay stuck and frustrated. The feature removes the challenge of the game and can put purists away, but it's also easily ignored if you want to feel like you're making progress.

Vincent also discovers a world at the top of each level where everyone is a sheep. Each sheep is actually a person trapped in a nightmare and each has a different fear or worry that torments them. You can help them get rid of these fears by talking to them and the game encourages you to do so. Conversations can help them overcome their insecurities to survive the nine levels of struggle and find "true freedom".

Exceed your box

"True freedom" is never clearly defined in Catherine: whole body, which makes sense in a game that is so often at war with itself.

The puzzle scenes in Vincent's nightmares are interrupted by scenes in the Stray Sheep, a bar where Vincent and his friends meet for a drink and talk about life. You will have access to Vincent's phone in these scenes, where you can send a text message to your multiple centers of interest and read their answers.

Your stay in the lost sheep is also directly related to what is happening in the dream world. For example, Vincent will move faster during his nightmares if you drink too much while he is awake, which can make it easier to reach the top. The disadvantage, however, is that time passes when you sit down for a drink, which means that some important characters can leave before they can talk to them. Talking to some of these people – aka your sheep companion that you meet in Vincent's dreams – can further improve their chances of getting out of nightmares alive. So be aware of your choices.

I can not help but encourage Vincent and his friends in these moments, as they discuss, laugh, drink and share secrets. But my affection for their camaraderie disappears when Catherine throws transphobic jokes into the situation, apparently unannounced.

Erica, one of the main characters in the game and an old friend of Vincent, is the target of jabs that make fun of her for not being a "real woman". but some references to an older controversial dialogue are still sharply reminiscent of the grievances of the past, which are now swept under the rug.

The irony is that Erica and Vincent suffer while trying to escape the rigid roles that society has entrusted to them, which makes it even more difficult to believe that Vincent would not be more sympathetic to his friend. I have the impression that I am forced to play a fool without any justification for this shitty behavior.

Yet with this worldview so entrenched in the majority of characters in Catherine: whole body, the inclusion of Rin – the new love interest that was not in the original game – seems to be a confusing but serious decision. I will not say exactly what's going on with Rin, it's a huge spoiler, but the revelation of some aspect of Rin's past is confusing to Vincent. It is confusion that, depending on the route you choose, leads Vincent to discover something new about his sexuality and how he perceives the genre as a whole.

To put it bluntly, this addition gives the impression that Atlus responds to critics of transphobia and homophobia in the original game. It's a thoughtful addition, though, and it brings a well-deserved discussion about the kind and sexuality that was sorely lacking. It is useful for Vincent to have a trip that can be so much more positive.

But adding a positive inclusion in the game takes nothing away from the occasional transmodynia that remains. In fact, it only seems to underscore the bodies that still exist.

Obsession and desire

Catherine: whole body shows the duality of people in a manner alienating and touching at the same time.

Vincent is not a "hero" in the broadest sense of the word. He can be incredibly self-centered, often without listening to his friend's problems or entrusting them to someone else. But he can also be kind and help the other sheep in his nightmares. I often did not know if I wanted to make Vincent want to let him do in his stagnant lifestyle or help him change for the better. And Catherine gives you a variety of ways to approach each path.

Will you ignore the texts that your long-time girlfriend sends you regularly? Do you demand nudes on your booth one night? Ignore both and live a life where Vincent cares only about himself? It depends on the player and his point of view on what is right or maybe what is desirable.

But your choices matter and CatherineTracking order / chaos – a blue / red indicator that appears after the dialogue options – will move in the direction corresponding to your actions for each choice.

But even this small feature raises the question: What is chaos and what is the order? Treating your girlfriend as a decent human being is considered orderly, while calling her to push you all the time is treated as a chaotic action. The order / chaos system introduces a black-and-white approach to often gray behaviors, in a way that ignores nuances in the rest of the story. What you care about, however, is primarily related to your concern to see each end.

Catherine: complete body remains a bizarre, but enjoyable adventure, which asks many questions about life without giving many answers. This is fine; Some of the best works of fiction allow the public to get an idea of ​​what all this means. But the game itself seems to aim for an ideal that it sometimes kills with its own writing and its own characterization, leaving an experience like Vincent himself: disordered, uncomfortable and always at the limit of his potential.

Catherine: complete body will be released Sept. 3 on PlayStation 4. The game has been analyzed with the help of a final download code "commercial" provided by Sega. You can find additional information on Polygon's ethics policy here.