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  1. Catherine: Full Body brings back the 2011 cult hit with brand new content in the story and gameplay, providing even more relationship complications for protagonist Vincent to puzzle over and towers to climb. With a mix of stylish visual novel storytelling and challenging block tower puzzle gameplay, the original Catherine provided a wholly unique experience. Now this updated version adds even more content, perfect for either returning or new players. Vincent Brooks is in a steady if routine relationship with his long-time girlfriend Katherine, but a chance encounter with an enigmatic young woman (named Catherine) at a bar throws his fidelity into question. To make matters worse, throughout the city unfaithful men are being haunted by strange nightmares which have deadly consequences in the waking world. Full Body adds yet another romantic entanglement into the mix, the amnesic Rin whom Vincent rescues from a dark alleyway one night and helps land a job at his favorite bar. Torn between these women, Vincent is perpetually on edge and forced to examine what he wants out of a relationship. Sure it's a bizarre setting for it, but Catherine: Full Body actually tells a pretty engaging story about confronting one's own indecisiveness about commitment. The downside is that the game does lean heavily on cliche, ham-fisted portrayals of gender roles (men=casual infidelity, women=nagging marriage) which makes for some clunky dialogue that honestly must have felt dated even in 2011, much less now. The game also gets into a, granted, believable portrayal of sensitive topics, but is still a bit uncomfortable and a bit callous. Rin's inclusion in particular feels a bit awkwardly inserted into the existing narrative. Despite all of that, the underlying exploration of relationships is still an engaging one, and the characters do see some growth over the course of the game by confronting the doubts that are preventing them from forging meaningful relationships. And with multiple endings possible as well as the new side story revolving around Rin, Catherine: Full Body tells a story that will easily pull you in, like a slow-moving relationship train wreck in a TV show where you can't help but want to see the final impact. A significant part of the gameplay revolves around just following the story—you spend half of your time in the Stray Sheep bar with Vincent and his friends, talking to fellow patrons and stressing out over what to say to Katherine or Catherine—but the more core gameplay features play out in Vincent's nightmares. In this dream realm, dressed only in his boxers and surrounded by sheep, Vincent must navigate a tower of blocks to reach the top. By pulling or pushing blocks you can create paths upward, though of course the obstacles in your way get more and more elaborate as the game progresses, from exploding blocks to antagonistic sheep that try to push you back down. You're challenged to think through how to create a viable path upward, but you can't spend too long thinking since the blocks at the bottom are gradually falling away into the abyss, prompting you to move quickly. It's a relatively simple puzzle-game system that Catherine: Full Body gets some great mileage out of, thanks to the wealth of possibilities that arise from just moving blocks to climb higher. There's a lot more depth at work than you might initially expect, and the game gradually explains some more advanced techniques to you that highlight just how flexible the system can be. It also requires a good amount of forethought and planning and, paired with the constant threat of falling into the abyss, the gameplay can be just as intense and stressful as Vincent's panicked expression every time he's talking to the women in his life. But as challenging as the game can be it also never feels terribly unfair. You can actually undo your last few moves if you realize you've made a mistake, or you could always restart from the last checkpoint you hit. Even with the constant time limit pressed upon you, there are opportunities to experiment at your own pace. Plus, finally reaching the top always feels like a satisfying accomplishment. The only aspect that does feel a bit lacking is in the controls. Your view of the block tower is essentially a 3D isometric display, but sometimes remembering exactly what left/right/up/down correspond to on the control stick is a bit awkward. A control stick in general doesn't feel like an ideal input method for the game's cubic level design, and it's easy to grab the wrong block or move in the wrong direction. It can lead to some foolish mistakes, which also means wasting time as the blocks below you continue to crumble. Thankfully though, the undo action means small missteps aren't a big deal, and this is all just a minor inconvenience in the control scheme. The presentation in Catherine: Full Body is pretty stylish, which shouldn't be too surprising considering some of the creators of the Persona games also worked on this. The fully animated cutscenes—and there are a lot of them—are beautiful, and really help to fully characterize Vincent and his love interests. The in-game graphics are less stand-out but still strong, and more importantly the excellent voice work helps bring the characters to life in a more realistic way. The soundtrack is excellent as well with a number of catchy, jazzy tunes and piano pieces that just feel right for a character in a near constant state of relationship crisis, punctuated by brief moments of respite. Just one playthrough of Catherine: Full Body lasts a good fourteen hours or so, maybe longer if you get particularly stuck on climbing the blocks, but this game is also packed with additional content. For one thing, there are multiple endings you can pursue, which also develop Vincent's character in different ways. It might be a little tedious to replay the whole game just to see these differences, but players looking to get the most out of the game should enjoy taking the time to do so. This edition of the game also comes with tons of additional challenges you can tackle outside of the story, including co-op and online competitive modes. If you enjoy the block puzzle gameplay, you're in for a real treat here. Catherine: Full Body provides a wealth of puzzle-solving gameplay thanks to the significant additions this version of the game provides. Throughout all of that, the core story of a romantically indecisive man haunted by his own hesitance is an engaging story, though the writing dips into some disappointing portrayals of gender norms and marginalized groups. Still, it's an engaging story like any romance triangle in a movie or show, and even if you're here just for the gameplay there's enough content and depth to keep you plenty busy. Switch owners looking for something unique will find Catherine: Full Body worth checking out. Rating: 8 out of 10 Sheep
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