Don't deprive yourself of Catherine.
I agree with Jeff 95% of the time and Catherine is the other 5%. I had an absolutely amazing time with it from beginning to end, I just never wanted to put down the controller until my body forced me to go to sleep.
Seeing as how Jeff liked Persona 4 so much, I don't recognize why he doesn't seem to be into Catherine. They both have a similar appeal - if you like well-written stories in games and making tough decisions that result in multiple endings, this game is for you.
You can find this game now for 20 or so dollars - so there's little excuse to deprive yourself of Catherine. Don't like block puzzles? Well, Catherine's puzzle design is pretty unique and challenging. Catherine starts off quite simple, gets much harder, but eases off later in the game. If you're still intimidated, you can always play it on Easy or even find the secret Very Easy mode to basically skip the puzzle elements.
At its core, I enjoyed Catherine because of the characters, storyline, music, atmosphere, dialogue, and art/style. Although its the subject of much complaint, the puzzle difficulty is justified in the game through story sequences (other characters have a hard time solving them too and fall to their deaths). The game's biggest fault is in its repetitive nature, you go to the same bar and keep seeing the same set pieces again and again.
But as you progress, the animated cutscenes make the challenge well worth it.
