Gameplay
Catherine is a cross-genre video game in which players control Vincent Brooks, a man who is tormented by deadly nightmares after becoming involved with multiple women. The gameplay is divided into two parts; daytime social simulation segments where Vincent interacts with various characters at the Stray Sheep bar, and nightmare segments where he navigates deadly block towers using a combination of platforming and puzzle solving. The game is split into three modes; the single-player story campaign dubbed "Golden Playhouse", and "Babel" multiplayer-exclusive "Colosseum" challenge levels unlocked after first completing the story.
The daytime gameplay has Vincent interacting with his girlfriends and other characters in the Stray Sheep bar. During dialogue and text segments, Vincent can choose several options to respond; these include standard dialogue options and composing text messages. During his time in the Stray Sheep, Vincent can Purchase drinks which help his navigation of Nightmare stages, but also impede his movement if he has too many. He can also play a minigame titled "Rapunzel" which mimics the gameplay in nightmares, or listen to a jukebox containing tracks from other Atlus games. Leaving the Stray Sheep will trigger the next Nightmare section.
The main gameplay takes place in the Nightmare stages. Vincent must climbs towers made of blocks, which Vincent must arrange into a stairway to reach the exit. As he climbs, the tower collapses beneath him, and if he fails to arrange the blocks before the collapse reaches him, Vincent will fall and the game end; he either restarts from the last checkpoint on the tower if Vincent has a pillow item, or the player must restart the game from their last save. Blocks can be freely pushed and pulled, balanced on the edge of a similar block, and form stairways. In addition to standard blocks, there are blocks with additional functions such as springing Vincent higher or containing lethal traps. Vincent can earn pillows that allow him to retry levels. There are also several items which can be found or purchased in between stages, such as spare blocks, lightning which removes enemies and energy drinks that allow Vincent to climb more steps at a time.
Completing a stage awards a score based on the time completed and items collected. These are posted on online leader boards accessed from the game's start menu. In addition to the Golden Playhouse mode, Babel Mode features four large stages playable with up to two players, while Colosseum features two players simultaneously playing a stage in order to reach the top first. The game has multiple endings depending on the choices made by the player during the course of the narrative.
Additional elements are added in Full Body. A new mode features rearranged versions of the game's puzzles, with the original game's arrangement featuring as a separate mode. A new online multiplayer mode is also added, where players can enter both a randomised match or a context with a player of equal rank. New character Rin can be called to halt the tower's collapse for a short time. Players can access a new difficulty level called "Safety", which removes all threats and time limit, and allows players to skip puzzles and continue with the story.
Plot
Vincent Brooks is unwilling to commit to marrying his longtime girlfriend Katherine. One night at the Stray Sheep Bar, a drunken Vincent meets an enigmatic young woman named Catherine; they have a one-night stand which turns into an affair. Simultaneously, Vincent begins experiencing surreal nightmares where he and other men must ascend a tower while outrunning terrifying demons; if they fail in the dream, they die in real life. The stress of his double life and the growing intensity of his nightmares eventually compel Vincent to end the affair with Catherine. In a violent confrontation between Vincent, Catherine, and Katherine, Catherine is seemingly killed; however, the incident is revealed to have occurred in the nightmare, from which Vincent and Katherine escape. The next day, Katherine—who has retained no memory of the nightmare—breaks off their relationship.
Vincent realizes he is the only person aware of Catherine's existence, and that all of her messages have vanished from his phone. Vincent confronts Mutton, the proprietor of the Stray Sheep who is the only other person he has witnessed Catherine speaking to. He learns that Mutton is Dumuzid the Shepherd, and that Catherine is a succubus who aided Mutton in his game to kill men who would not commit to marriage and family. Vincent enters the nightmare world one last time, on the condition that he and the other men will be freed if he reaches the top of the tower. Vincent is victorious and defeats Dumuzid, who is revealed to be an associate of Astaroth.
In Full Body, Rin moves in next door to Vincent after taking a job at the Stray Sheep playing piano. Vincent and Rin grow close, with Rin comforting him in his nightmares by playing the piano. During one meeting, Vincent accidentally discovers that Rin is a cross-dressing man, which causes a rift between them following Vincent's shocked reaction. If Vincent chooses to reconnect with Rin, he appears in Vincent's nightmare and is captured by Mutton, with Vincent rescuing him by defeating Astaroth. Alternate endings for Katherine and Catherine are unlocked if Vincent sends them a recording of Rin's piano music.
