Atlus' CATHERINE Has Been Rated By The ESRB For PC

Yesterday, an update on Bayonetta's Steam showed up suggesting that Atlus might be thinking about bringing Catherine to PC nearly eight years after its launch on PlayStation 3 and Xbox One. The message featured a picture of a sheep, appropriately titled “Baa." While it could mean virtually anything, this specific animal played a large role in the mythology and environment of the game, and it wouldn't be the first time a game's port was teased through Bayonetta, as we saw in 2017 with a hint that Vanquish would be coming to PC, and last year it also teased that Puyo Puyo Tetris would be coming to PC.

It looks like Catherine is indeed coming to PC, as the official Entertainment Software Rating Board's M-rating for the PC version of the game has been released. Its content descriptors are: "Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence," and you can read the full rating summary from the ESRB down below in anticipation of the imminent confirmation from Atlus:

"This is a puzzle adventure game in which players assume the role of Vincent, a man with relationship issues that are manifested in his dreams. The game transitions between animated cutscenes and puzzle stages (i.e., nightmares); in the nightmare world, players must help Vincent ascend crumbling towers by pushing, pulling, and climbing blocks to reach an exit. If players make the wrong move, they can be killed by spike traps and giant boss creatures (e.g., a demon bride, a chainsaw-wielding baby); death scenes are accompanied by exaggerated splashes of blood as Vincent is stabbed, crushed, shot, or bitten. During one cutscene, a character is stabbed in the stomach with a knife; a large pool of blood quickly forms under her body. In order to move faster in the puzzles stages, players can order Vincent alcoholic beverages (e.g., mixed cocktails, beer, sake, whiskey); after three drinks, he begins to stumble around when moving. These sequences are accompanied by voice-over narration: “It's said that chugging alcohol isn't good for you, but sometimes it's necessary” and “[T]ake a big swig of cognac!” Throughout the game, sex and sexuality are frequently referenced, sometimes while two characters are in bed together (e.g., “I finally became a man! Got rid of my V-card, BOOM,” “If the one you loved confessed to a sexual habit that you found absolutely unacceptable, what would you do?” and “After all you've done to my body . . . Night after night . . .”). One bedroom sequence pans across a man's legs, then to his curling toes; another scene briefly depicts a woman caressing her body while making suggestive comments (e.g., “I've got such a hunger for these feelings . . . I know you have some hungers as well, don't you?” ). The game also depicts the central character surrounded by topless female demons—though shadow effects obscure most details. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” can be heard in the dialogue."

2011's Catherine was arguably one of the most unique and controversial video games of the last generation of consoles, as the American division of Atlus initially had major problems persuading mainstream stores like Target and Walmart to take Catherine due to its suggestive cover art and marketing calling it an "adult" title, which was associated with erotic games not sold in such stores.

Explore the pleasures and horrors of love as Vincent, a man with a hard choice to make: marry his longtime girlfriend Katherine or move on to the incredible blonde he just woke up next to—named Catherine! But beware! Make the wrong choice, and you could end up dead. Delving into themes of free will, and the delicate nature of relationships and the choices we make within them, this action-adventure/puzzle game is an experience wholly unlike any to come before it.