@Ralizah I really hope that isn’t true, the possibility of playing 4K Blu-Rays is the only reason I’m interested in the disc version and probably the only way I can convince my mum it isn’t a massive waste of money!
@nessisonett I like how a console that can play new games for 7-ish years is a waste of money, but a blu-ray player on steroids that'll only be able to play the same movies that are already available on normal blu-ray is fine.
I'm seriously curious about the possibility of Sony shipping the disc-based PS5 to stores in lower quantities in order to push people toward the cheaper, all-digital version. There has to be a MASSIVE incentive to using the suck cost of digital purchases to keep someone locked in an ecosystem.
As ness says I'd like to hope that isn't true @Ralizah.
Sony is a giant corperation and well... the end goal is to make money. Can't deny it could potentially happen.
Though they aren't WB, EA, 2K, Activision or the likes with the gross overmonetisation of MTX's so they aren't completely without some set of morals.
... For the moment at least.
-Looks up the FFVII R deluxe edition contents- Hardcover Artbook, Mini Soundtrack and a steelbook? Pretty decent swag to come with it!
Also we've gone rather off track from the Switch...
I've played about two hours of Catherine: Full Body tonight. It's a tremendously weird game so far. Not sure how I feel about the puzzle aspects, but the narrative is incredibly engaging. And, good lord, is that opening theme smooth.
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Mine also came with an exclusive PS4 theme and a few extra bits of DLC. It's very nice. Especially considering I got it in a pre-release sale that essentially made it the same price as the base version.
@Ralizah Catherine was the most memorable (and probably the best) game I've played this year so far. I'm a sucker for puzzle games and the theme was pretty close to my heart - I've turned 30 this year, and the game features some themes that have been prominent in my life too, but games hardly ever tackle. The cinematic portions of the game were amazing too, and many of the dialogues so well written.
There are a few things regarding gender the game doesn't tackle really well. So if people are insecure about those kind of topics, then reconsider if you want to play it at all. However it's not something that weighs the game down too much for me or anything, because I'd rather have games that deal with the topic in an imperfect games, then have no games about it at all.
@Kidfried Yeah, I'm not too worried about the game's treatment of gender. It's obvious that it's proceeding from a bit of stereotypical cishet male perspective on love and relationships and women, but I think that's fine: many, many people out there also embody that perspective. There's nothing wrong with that perspective.
It's fun so far. I'm liking it. I hope Atlus creates more unique stuff like this in the future.
@Kidfried@Ralizah From what I played before deciding it just wasn’t for me, it was definitely apparent that a few of the ‘damning moments’ used against Catherine were in fact just things Vincent said. Now Vincent is absolutely not set up in any way to be a nice person, he’s a garbage human therefore I don’t see much point in picking apart all the terrible things he says. It’s like Ross from Friends, all these people on Buzzfeed and stuff going on about how he’s the worst character ever but that was the point, he’s supposed to be terrible. Without spoiling anything, there are some definite ‘oof’ moments later on but I still maintain that it’s a good game that just isn’t for me and definitely deals with certain things badly. That being said, it was Japan in 2011, attitudes have shifted massively worldwide.
@nessisonett@Kidfried I like how the game uses subtle clues in the dialogue to tie the world together. I met some guy in the bar who remembered Vincent from kindergarten, and who I suspected was kind of hurt when Vincent didn't remember him (a relatable situation; if I had a nickel for every time I bumped into someone who knew my name, but I couldn't even recall where I had met them...). Later on in the dream world, I meet a sheep who seems like he's sulking about that exact situation, suggesting he's the guy from the bar.
The game itself very obviously adopts a notion of gender essentialism that I can't really relate to, but I'm sure other people can. I imagine a lot of people who aren't in the "buzzfeed crowd" and who get offended by re-runs of 90's sitcoms probably also find it relatable. And I think anyone can probably relate to finding themselves in a situation where they feel outmaneuvered and trapped by the people around them.
Vincent is an interesting character precisely because of how flawed and ordinary he is. He's the sort of person I wouldn't get along with IRL, and, from the outside, I'd find his situation infuriating (I still do, actually), so it's interesting stepping into his shoes and inhabiting that headspace.
@Ralizah Vincent’s that one friend everyone has who makes terrible life choices but constantly bemoans their situation and asks you for advice (really just to moan) while totally disregarding what you’re saying. That’s part of why I stopped playing it, I really disliked Vincent as a person and as much as I’m OK with flawed characters, he really was terrible and I find it hard to get motivated to play when his choices just did my head in. I assume there’ll be a redemption arc at some point. I still think Catherine was a big step forward in telling mature stories about sex and relationships in games though, albeit with rather a few caveats. A lot of games treat relationships (and mostly with women) as plot devices, with your dead wife trope, your generic playful banter between the two leads etc. Catherine tells a story of human relationships, warts and all. Thinking about it, I can’t really name many games with great love stories to be honest. Mario and Peach? BroShep and Garrus, at least in my headcanon? The only game I can think of that made me actually feel something about a canonical pairing was Tidus and Yuna, which felt both natural and was integral to the overall plot. Contrast that with FFXV’s weird romantic subplot, where they spent about 5 seconds on screen together and had zero chemistry. Noctis has more chemistry with each of his yaoi stereotype ‘friends’, I mean look at them, there’s ‘dad’ boi who cooks, ‘abs’ boi who likes nature and dotes on his sister and your generic twink with a tragic backstory. We need more games with actual romance rather than me being left to fill the void with awful subtext 😂😂
@Ralizah Oh man, that’s great news, the original is great but I have to dig out my 3DS to play it. Really, really cool for them to revisit it and I know you’ll be all over that physical copy!
@Ralizah "I like how the game uses subtle clues in the dialogue to tie the world together."
This is done so brilliantly if you ask me. I think it really makes the world, but also the game's themes, come to life.
"And I think anyone can probably relate to finding themselves in a situation where they feel outmaneuvered and trapped by the people around them.."
Yea, I think that, even when you feel like your like you're unlike Vincent in every way, you might still be able to relate in so many ways. For example: how many milennials these days feel like their life is going nowhere, or how people can feel trapped in relationships, careers, etc.
What I'm trying to say, though not so eloquently and trying not to use too many words, is that there is a lot in this game to unpack, analyze, et cetera.
"Vincent is an interesting character precisely because of how flawed and ordinary he is. He's the sort of person I wouldn't get along with IRL, and, from the outside, I'd find his situation infuriating (I still do, actually), so it's interesting stepping into his shoes and inhabiting that headspace."
To be honest, and that's why it is strange to read comments like this one and by @nessisonett is that I can relate to Vincent in many ways actually. And yes, he's kind of a jerk, but what sets him apart from a one-dimensional character like Ross (I hate friends, haha) is that his actions are coming from his own insecurities, rather than him being a dork-end-of-story. The different endings definitely support that too.
I mean, he's clearly pretty unsure about the way his life is heading. I'd even go as far to say that he's clearly not happy about the path his life has taken, but he finds it hard to confront that. And his response is 'flight'. He goes to bars to forget about his life, his relation problems. He drinks a lot, also to escape from reality. And in a way Catherine also provides an escape from his life.
Obviously these are all unhealthy ways to be dealing that kind of stuff, but in a way it's a natural response as well.
"That being said, it was Japan in 2011, attitudes have shifted massively worldwide."
Not only that, but even if it were released today, I think this game is forward thinking and progressive (I don't mean progressive in the political sense; I hate how the meaning of that word changed in the last two decades) in so many ways, that I am very forgiving with it. I guess you said something like that already, though, haha.
" I still think Catherine was a big step forward in telling mature stories about sex and relationships in games though, albeit with rather a few caveats. A lot of games treat relationships (and mostly with women) as plot devices, with your dead wife trope, your generic playful banter between the two leads etc. Catherine tells a story of human relationships, warts and all. Thinking about it, I can’t really name many games with great love stories to be honest."
Yea, this, a lot of this. Catherine ain't the best 'love story', but it's one of the best stories about love on the medium.
"We need more games with actual romance rather than me being left to fill the void with awful subtext 😂😂"
Definitely. It's strange how we've become so accepting of the boring way in which love is portrayed in video games. The only game that comes to mind that had some interesting plot points regarding love was Red Dead Redemption 2; but even that didn't come close to the stuff we see in Catherine of course.
@Kidfried You make a good point about Red Dead 2 actually, I forgot just how amazing that one mission was, where you take Abigail out around Blackwater. It’s strange how few and far between actual games that have a proper canonical romantic element are, it’s one of the main types of media after all. I wonder why so many games treat it as a ‘minigame’ of sorts, or it being left up to the player to decide on a partner. All this talk is actually making me want to try Catherine again, it’s been a while after all and perhaps I’ll take to it slightly better this time. I still find some of the Erica stuff extremely iffy but to be honest, I really like Gone with the Wind as a movie so it’s the same sorta deal for me.
That was the worst video game-related stream I've ever watched in my life. Both Paper Mario and... whatever that WF game was just looked really terrible. I hope The Origami King gets better later on, because that footage was... yikes.
@nessisonett The news that Shantae's GBC cart was being reprinted set the cosmic order out of balance. We needed something cripplingly disappointing to balance it back out.
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