Catherine
Video Games That Netflix Should Adapt Into Animated Series
Catherine is one of those games that is almost as fun to watch as it is to play. In-between gameplay and some in-game cutscenes are some incredibly well-animated shorts that almost feel like small anime episodes. Western games so often go for photorealistic cutscenes, but Catherine dives headfirst into beautiful anime-like shorts.
Catherine is about Vincent Brooks, an indecisive man who gets caught up in a love triangle (or square, depending on which version you’re playing) after his long-time girlfriend brings up the idea of marriage. It’s full of big moral questions and dilemmas, and a lot of personal drama regarding relationships.
As much as Catherine is a puzzle-solving game, it’s also a choice-based drama where Vincent’s in-game decisions lead to a wildly different ending. Watching Vincent evolve and have to make tough decisions would be a fascinating character study.
Throughout the game, you also learn that Vincent’s friends also have love issues, but it’s not a focal point of the narrative. An animated series could bring these characters more to the forefront and develop their relationship with Vincent and each other more.
Vincent spends a lot of time hanging out with his friends at their favorite bar, discussing their love life and ambitions. They help him and the viewer with a different perspective on love and relationships, and give a window into Vincent’s past. Vincent’s personality is often on display when talking to his friends, not when he’s with his girlfriend or secret lover. His friends are just as important to the plot as Vincent’s love interests.
We really only get to see bits and pieces though, really diving in would flesh out their characters, their relationships with Vincent and each other, show more of Vincent’s past to give context for his present-day decisions, and just help him with the main issues of his love life. Their own personal stories happen in the background of the game, but only if the player looks for them, so an animated series would flesh out their character more and lead to more development.
It would be great to see Vincent’s relationships fleshed out more and even have some side characters have their stories expanded. Catherine getting an animated series is a no-brainer.
