Portal is a game about portals. So is Portal 2. It’s very easy to summarize what those games are about, even if you can’t put a finger down on the genre. Is it a puzzle game? A first-person shooter? A first-person puzzler? It doesn’t matter, because no one really describes the game in such a manner. It doesn’t feel like a genre in the sense that Sum 41 sounds like corporate punk rock (an ironic term if there ever were one (you can call it “screamo” if you want, but face it, without The Sex Pistols there would be no Green Day, would be no Blink 182, would be no Sum 41)). If you want to explain what Portal is about to someone, the first and most common thing you will discuss is portals.

The story in these games is just scenery. Yes, it is well written and amusing in both cases, and if you played the first Portal then there is added emotional weight to seeing GLaDOS waking back up in Portal 2. This is just the decoration and confetti to a game built around an already genius concept, though.

Then there’s Catherine. On the surface, it is similar. A video game about solving puzzles with a clever and important story line as the impetus to complete each new conundrum. Or is it a video game about a man in his thirties struggling with his relationship(s) while the puzzles present a more or less physical manifestation of his troubles and fears? Does the person come for the gameplay or do they stay for the story?

Truth? I wouldn’t even call it a puzzle game. It feels a lot more like a platformer, and platformers are notorious for puzzle elements to begin with. Catherine is just heavy in them, where the puzzles and platforming are much more intertwined. In order to climb up to the next level you have to make yourself a stair. This is the game for the children who always figured out how to get to the cookie jar on top of the refrigerator, only with a time limit.

That time limit is what will either make or break the game for you. This isn’t the sort of game that allows the player to go forward (or upward, as it were) at their own pace. It’s driving you up those blocks, and if you aren’t observant enough or quick-thinking enough then you’re not going to make it to the top. While there are various difficulty settings, the differences primarily rely in the number of retries you gain when nabbing a one-up, or how fast the blocks fall. While the “Easy” and “Normal” stages are slightly different, they don’t get drastically more tough until you select “Hard” mode. As a result, even “Easy” can be having players pull their hair out in frustration (in which case, they should try the secret patched-in “Very Easy” difficulty).

If you’re not good at improvising on your feet, then this game is not going to be a leisurely conquer. Yet that is also it’s greatest strength. There are few games of this type that had me on the edge of my seat, grinding my teeth and heart beating as I clambered up those last few steps, just barely escaping death. You’re never completely sure if you’ll make that final step or if the ground will fall out from beneath you. Then, miraculously, you make it to safety. You lean back, heart pumping and catching your breath, exhausted by a tense and suspenseful video game. All you did was solve some puzzles.

The design of the levels are quite clever as well. Throughout the game you’ll find characters discussing and teaching climbing techniques. At first they seem simple, but later on a player may scratch their heads, wondering how they’d ever remember to pull such a move off, let alone recognize the specific scenario where it would be useful. Yet when you get there, it’s almost instinctual. You may even find yourself discussing techniques, only to find one you’ve already discovered mentioned. Yet you never considered it a “set technique”. The mechanics blend well enough that the second you see it, your mind knows what to do. Push that block over there, drop to the side, climb around, leap on that block, pull that one out, repeat. Suddenly the game starts throwing blocks at you that are harmful or prove to be obstacles, and yet in time you learn their use as well.

This is, perhaps, the biggest difference between Valve’s approach with Portal and that taken with Catherine. It’s not about the satisfaction of solving puzzles. It’s about the adrenaline of overcoming obstacles and climbing a complex, dangerous tower. It’s about living in the moment rather than the big picture.

Which is where the story comes in. Sort of. Depending on which path you take. See, the game is about a fellow named Vincent. He’s in his thirties, has a pretty lame programming job, has been in the same relationship with the same over-bearing woman for a number of years and spends each night with his friends at the same old bar. Then along comes a young piece o’ blonde seducing the poor bloke while he’s drunk, and his whole life gets turned upside down. He’s now trying to juggle two women at once while suffering from nightmares where death in the dream means death in reality.

I’ve already gone in-depth on how awesome it is that a video game is actually dealing with relationships in a rather mature manner. It’s not about living out some fantasy or anything. I’m not even sure it’s there to make a point. It’s there to take what is traditionally a complex and even problematic relationship dilemma and allowing the player to explore their own feelings towards it. You can have Vincent get married, or you can allow him to live the swingin’ life of a bachelor. The game will ask questions that will determine what decisions Vincent will make as the story progresses, and these responses will be compared online or to polls taken during the game’s development.

It’s not just a story about exploring moral boundaries, though. Anyone in their mid-twenties to late thirties can probably find something to relate to in here, to understand. You keep on wondering what is going to happen next in the story. It’s a creative enough concept that it’s tough to predict the next step. This isn’t the typical JRPG where you can spot the love interest on the box art or average shooter where you know the generic traitor as soon as he steps on screen. The cause of the dreams is left a mystery until the end, and just what is going to happen to the characters is up in the air, especially as many of the side characters rely on you the player for salvation.

Choices in the game are measured by three categories. Instead of being “good”, “bad” or “neutral”, they are labeled “lover”, “cheater” and “true freedom”. The idea is the “lover” metric is based on the player being loyal, sticking to more traditional ideas of love and relationships. The “cheater” and “true freedom” aren’t such sticklers, either focusing entirely on a relationship in secret or simply the freedom to have a relationship with as many women of your choosing. Even so, there are a variety of endings total, with a “bad” and “good” ending for every category. This leaves some replay value as Vincent’s actions and the story will change as time progresses (and as a bonus, if you manage a Gold rank in that level, then you can skip it on any consecutive replay on that same difficulty or lower).

It’s true that this game may not be for everyone, and some may even outright hate it. However, it cannot be denied that this is one of those rare gems that comes across and challenges the medium and the player at the same time. Considering the popularity of games like Call of Duty, Angry Birds and FarmVille, it’s amazing that someone even bothered to make a video game about the trials and tribulations of an adult relationship. I mean, where are the guns? Where’s the online play? Where’s the possibility for extra post-release revenue?

Catherine is probably one of the better games I’ve not only played all year, but in the past ten years. It’s certainly memorable, and years down the line I’ll find myself being nostalgic for it in the same vein that I’m nostalgic for EarthBound or Super Metroid. This game is a classic, and with luck it’ll influence a few designers to try and experiment with themes other than space aliens or terrorists (and not just in a quirky Coffee House indie hit, either).