At this past year’s E3 in June, Atlus’ Catherine had an unbelievable amount of presence at the show. From the graphics on our name badges to almost all sides of their booth, it’s clear that they mean business with this game and, with the hype surrounding it lately, why wouldn’t they?

Catherine follows the story of Vincent who is in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend Katherine. Keep a close watch on the spelling here as it could become a bit confusing. With Katherine making a push for the couple to tie-the-knot and take the next step in their relationship, Vincent transforms into an emotional wreck, begins to question whether this is the life he truly wants and, one evening at a bar, winds up meeting a mysterious young woman named Catherine who he brings home and spends the night with. Soon afterwards, Vincent is plagued by bizarre, horrifying dreams, that will make up the bulk of the gameplay, that seem somehow related to his recent affair. Ultimately, the choice between love and lust will come down to the player as they make a number of choices throughout the story of the game.

While it’s important to keep in mind that this game is being made by the same team behind the Persona series, which is also published by Atlus, it’s equally important to mention that this is a much different animal than those titles. The RPG elements of the team’s previous games are almost nonexistent within Catherine and instead, as I mentioned earlier, the player will control Vincent mostly during his nightmares as he ascends a tower made of blocks while pushing, pulling and climbing his way past a number of obstacles and enemies along the way.

During the demo of the game I played, a demonic version of Vincent’s girlfriend Katherine slashed blocks of the tower out from under me as I tried desperately to get out of harms way. Her relentless assault and my not-so-quick thinking led to a TON number of violent deaths for my character and a quick realization that this game is definitely targeted towards gamers seeking a challenge. In Japan, shortly after the game’s release, a patch was released that added a “Very Easy” mode due to an outcry from fans that the game was just too tough.

Now I completely understand why.

However, much like Demon’s Souls before it, Catherine feels like a game that I could play regardless of the horrendous difficulty simply because the game’s story and mechanics are so compelling and original. When you’re not fighting sheepmen or trying not to get skewered by your demon girlfriend, you’ll be navigating Vincent through conversations, interactions and other situations with the game’s other characters, all the while making choices that will ultimately decide how the rest of your game plays out. These levels appear similar to the Persona series’ non-Tartarus or non-TV World settings and will certainly change from player to player.

While I’m sure that Catherine won’t be a game for everyone, it’s definitely worth a try for fans of the Persona games or really anyone looking for a change from the usual puzzle games out there. The graphic style, presentation and game cinematics, which are done by the team at Studio 4°C, are absolutely gorgeous and combined with the gameplay elements and multiple paths available for players in the game will certainly help separate this title from other releases this year.

Catherine arrives in a store near you on July 26th, 2011 but for those of you that just can’t hold out, (or feel like punishing themselves a little early) the game’s demo will be available on both PS3 and 360 next Tuesday, July 12th.

So what’ll it be: Catherine or Katherine? It’s all up to you.

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