According to a post from popular Japanese blogger named Ryokutya2089 , Atlus could be hard at work on a follow-up to a popular title the studio had released for the PlayStation 3 era. Details are slim in regards to what that game may be—Atlus enjoyed a string of popular titles during the PlayStation 3 era and it could be any one of the handful. The frontrunner, however, would be the puzzler Catherine, one of the most inventive releases Atlus released in the last few years.
Ryokutya2089 is generally regarded as a trustworthy leaker who has posted new issues of Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation on a regular basis. His latest post asserts the Atlus news and stated that he’s heard about the specific title, but it doesn’t have a number, which has led him to hypothesize that it may be a “full” version of a game or an “all-included remaster.” He also stated that it does not have downloadable content.
While there aren’t enough details to make any further educated guesses about what the game may be, it’s important to remember a special broadcast Atlus held in Japan earlier this year, called the “ Golden Employment Special,” for its new Studio Zero dev team. The aim was to attract a set of new employees to the studio. What’s more, the end of the broadcast seemed to tease something related to Catherine.
Not long after that, Atlus made the announcement that Studio Zero would be working on a second project in addition to its first and main work, the JRPG Project Re Fantasy. Whatever this second project may be is supposed to be revealed ahead of Project Re Fantasy, but Atlus has remained quiet on the subject since confirming the initial announcement.
Catherine was a more adult-oriented game that explored themes of sex, intimacy, cheating, and relationships. It combined elements of a visual novel and dating sim with a block puzzler where you’re tasked with scrambling up walls as enemies chase you from the bottom of the screen. It’s a high-energy thrill ride as you try to make your way to the end of each level without succumbing to your enemies. A follow-up to Catherine would certainly be an ambitious move, though we probably won’t know more for a while.
