VGOTY 2011 #4 - Catherine

Technically speaking, this is the only original game on my VGOTY list, as all the rest are sequels, follow-ups and "spiritual successors"; but Catherine is a 100% unique game and one that really interested me as soon as I saw a video of it on Giant Bomb about a year ago. Its difficult to explain the experience of playing this game, especially as I mostly played it during the midnight hours in the summer holiday. Even now, I get a strange feeling at the pit of my stomach if I think of the hypnotic atmosphere in the 'Stray Sheep' bar as Vincent (the main character) drinks the night away with his friends. I'd cling onto every available second, talking to as many people as possible and ordering as many drinks as I could knowing full well that as soon as I left the bar one of the most nightmarish and difficult games of the year was about to !PUNISH ME... HARD!

Catherine is a strange mix of light-RPG dialogue trees, relationship simulator and insanely difficult block-puzzle game that is hard to accurately describe and unlike anything else I've ever played. It is also one of the few games where I have finished it and immediately jumped straight back in for a second run-through. The replay value is amazing not only because of the trophies for clearing levels with greater skill, but also the dynamic "morality" meter and different paths through the game - leading to one of, I think, nine different endings!? The voice acting is also impeccable and the script is great; dealing with mature topics that are usually unseen in video games such as infidelity, and this makes a sharp departure from the sci-fi and fantasy offerings that permeate the rest of this VGOTY list.

The obvious elephant in the room though is its notorious difficulty: the Japanese release had to be patched because people complained about the game being "rape-ass-hard"... just to confirm, THE JAPANESE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY!! You know that it's going to break your face when that happens. The US release (which I played) came with the patch already as part of the game, but it is still an extremely challenging game. However, like other titles such as Demon's Souls, it's this heightened difficulty and expectation from the player that makes this game so rewarding to play through and overcome.