For those that didn't know. The Catherine demo was put on the Japanese PSN store yesterday. Obviously for crazy ATLUS fans we all had our Japanese PSN accounts ready and downloaded it faster than a fighter jet. As for the game? Well I can say that Catherine is not for everybody, even I was skeptical when I saw the gameplay trailer. But I'm going to give you a little feel for how I thought the game was.


Damn.

At the start of the demo we start with our unlucky hero Vincent, who appears to be dreaming. Everything seems odd to him as he appears to be in a staircase world filled with sheepmen who strive to climb to the top.

The gameplay in Catherine is in basic terms "climbing by moving blocks around". But that doesn't mean it isn't fun. You must guide Vincent to the top of the staircase to reach a heavenly door at the top, which allows him to wake up from his crazed nightmare. Things are made harder for you as you're being chased by a massive pair of hands that want to pierce your heart with a fork. In the demo of Catherine there isn't always a clear path to help you reach the top. Moving blocks is essential to progression or you may find yourself in pieces of bloody flesh after being mashed into a wall by a fork. Vincent can only move up one block so you have to be very fast. Being fast is key in Catherine, you have to think it as well as move it. In the second stage that I played I died 3 times because I was too slow and was unable to move the blocks fast enough. I also felt that as the enemy below was getting closer I began to be put under pressure and moving blocks into wrong positons and essentialy trapping myself as. I was even shouting at my TV as I was killed. But I kept on playing and I'm glad I did.


Not so unlucky right now, eh?

As for the Plot, well I don't understand a word of Japanese. But there appears to be many Persona 4 esque talking scenes. But I did notice a lot more Anime cutscenes which are always good. One other thing to note is that ATLUS really did well with the graphics in the game. Their style looks very good in HD.
If you havent got the demo yet I strongly suggest you try it out.
So far I can't wait for Catherine, and I hope it gets a Western release.