Celeste (2018)

I got the physical edition of Celeste on the switch a while ago and I finally got around to playing it. I had already beaten it once before on PC, but this is a game that always feels fresh to me no matter how many times I play it. It's just as good as I remember it, if not better.

Let's get straight to the point, I think Celeste is one of the best platformers of all time, at least gameplay-wise.

Movement is probably the most important part of any platformer, and Celeste just absolutely nails it. It somehow feels both chaotic and incontrollable when you're in high-stress situations, yet extremely precise and maneuverable when you take your time and stay calm through the platforming challenges. It feels perfect.

However, I think my favorite part about Celeste is how it handles momentum. You're introduced to it in the first level with platforms that flung you away as soon as you touch them, and it keeps slowly evolving as you play until you learn how to wallbounce and wavedash. Learning how to control and use your momentum to your advantage is an integral part of the game, and Celeste just keeps introducing more and more mechanics that change how you're able to interact with your momentum.

One of the major complaints for this game is its difficulty. Yes, it's a hard game, but I don't really think it's pixel-perfect as most people say. I've always felt that this game's challenge is more about the jumps being hard to execute, rather than being hard to land. It may not look like it, but the game is very lenient with most of its obstacles, and you don't realize until you finally learn and master how to beat those obstacles.

I do think there's a few issues with the level design. The first few stages are fun, but certain levels in the middle have this issue where, even if the individual screens can be fun, the entire stage as a whole feels like a hassle to complete. Levels like the Core or the Mirror Temple feature mechanics that aren't unfun, but they're very different to the rest of the game and don't really match with the way the overall experience is designed. It's not bad, but it's a low point of the entire experience.

Presentation-wise, this game's also incredible. The game's sprites all look fantastic and beautiful, even if the color choices make some things blend into the background at certain points. The hand-drawn scenes feel really special every time they show up, and I especially love how the exagerated animation makes all character feel very expressive, even with their sprites being so small.

But my favorite part about it has gotta be the sound design. Sure, the Celeste soundtrack is iconic, Lena Raine did an amazing job. But the sounds when you activate a platform? The little sound effect when you wallbounce??? The silly little voices every character has????? Incredible.

Celeste has a very carefully written narrative. The story's very simple, yet still heart-warming. You play as Madeline, a woman who has to climb a giant metaphor, all while fighting her (literal) inner demons. The narrative is more an exploration of Madeline's mental state, so even if a few stages have no story relevance, it doesn't feel like there's anything missing. The characters are always evolving emotionally, and that's all that matters.

All characters are also very fun to interact with, and most of them have some real depth once you actually look into them. You'll learn many things about them as you play, even more in the sequel cough cough fragments of the mountain review, and by the end of the game, even the bad choices they make feel in-character and justified.

IN CONCLUSION: I really like Celeste. It's a great platformer with amazing movement and fun obstacle courses designed around making you have fun with said movement. Every part of the presentation is expertly-crafted, and it's all iconic. The story's really good as well, and all the characters are fun and interesting.

No, I don't like how most character development is given in one infodump halfway through the game. No, I don't look forward to the middle stages while playing. No, Its story didn't change my life or fixed my mental state like it did to a lot of people... but I still really like it. Even with all of it's flaws, it's one of my favorite games of all time. 10/10

Great difficulty that keeps you on your toes constantly, but grows together with the player.

Extremely tight controls which remind you every time you die who's fault it is.

A moving story about identity, overcoming one's internal struggles, the difficulty of dealing with anxiety, self-doubt and the importance of friendship (this game has the most powerful and accurate depiction of a panic attack I have ever seen in a video game).

Beautiful pixel aesthetics with a magical atmosphere but never at the cost of a sharp overview.

And a banger OST that you're going to remember.

10/10.

Some background music if you're interested:)

Every few years a game comes out that sets itself apart from the rest. Celeste not only excells in its highly addictive platforming gameplay, it also shines in telling a beautiful story.

Each chapter opens up a new location as you ascend the mountain, chapters are full of variety, introducing new mechanics and ways of navigating the levels. A gorgeous soundtrack accompanies each chapter too! As the chapter progresses so does the difficulty. At times I felt like like the difficulty and intensity was too much for me. It's overpowering at times. I think this really works in your favour if you're someone who enjoys a challenging precision platformer.

As you climb the mountain it becomes apparent that your character has a lot of inner demons that are now manifesting themselves in physical form throughout the levels. The cast of characters along the way, especially Theo, show the power of friendship and support. Depression, doubt, hatred, frustration - the game explores a lot of emotional themes. And that's what this game is really, an emotionally mature depiction (in cutesy video game format) of what it's like to face your fears, to battle your own mind. Celeste is every much a platformer as it is a warm hug that's offering to reach out to the player and say "everything is going to be okay, you've got this".

By the end of the game I had over 1,500 deaths. Just as I felt the difficulty crush me in each chapter, I remembered how the main character always picked herself up and carried on. Before I knew it I was completing chapter after chapter:)

I'm a sucker for platformers and I love pretty much everything about this game. An absolute masterpiece if there ever was one.

Madeline feels great to control. The moves are simple but the skill ceiling is insanely high. I love the fact that wavedashes, hypers, and supers exist. Just overall great movement. The level design is fantastic, so many different ways to approach each screen and so many secrets and extras hidden throughout. The music is of course amazing and I think the B-side thing is so cute.

One of my favorite parts about Celeste is its approach to difficulty. The game is difficult but manageable thanks to the fact that each screen is it's own save state. I like that the difficulty is thematically relevant. I also appreciate that they have an assist mode for those that need it, a grace that is rarely extended in difficult games (looking at you, Cuphead.)

It's rare for platformers to have a story that actually matters. I honestly can't think of any other platformer with a story I care about. Celeste's story actually makes me a bit teary eyed. It's a beautiful message and the way it ties in with the gameplay is surprisingly well executed.

Lastly, I feel like I have to mention the sheer amount of content in this indie game. The b-sides, c-sides, core, and farewell weren't necessary at all, yet they are there anyway.

I've cherished every moment I've spent with this game, and I can only pray that another platformer comes close to being as good as this one.

Celeste as a game is perfectly fine, and I get why it became such a big hit. I'm glad for the team's success on this one, and it's always nice for smaller indie titles to get this level of critical praise and fan adoration.

In the end though, this one just isn't for me -- which surprised me, because hype aside, it sounded like something that would be my sort of thing. I guess I've learned that I like 2D platformers, but when the entire game is built solely around pixel-perfect jumping challenges (Super Meat Boy, 1001 Spikes, VVVVVV, etc) I just get tired of it after a while. I think something like Shovel Knight is my "happy medium" -- lots of challenging jumps to pull off, but still plenty of variety to gameplay to be had with combat. I also was not 100% won over by the controls in Celeste. For the most part it works (I thought the wall climbing was particularly clever), but the direction of your air dashes can be finnicky. Lots of deaths when I thought for certain I had dashed at a diagonal, but the character just goes straight instead.

I'll also have to say the game did not resonate with me on an emotional level either. Our protagonist (I named her Ruby, since this game's a "hidden gem") has anxiety problems, so she goes to Silent Hill Mountain to confront her shadow self from Persona 4. ("You're... not... me!!!") Interesting details are unfortunately scarce for this one -- I never really felt I got to know the protagonist much at all. Her mental conflicts are generally kept as vague as can be... I get this is probably to make it so as many players as possible can relate to her troubles, but for me it all comes off as kind of flimsy, and ultimately a missed opportunity. (I also understand that I probably shouldn't be too hard on the narrative though, when it's a platformer with little text to work with. But still, considering all the game's mountain-high praise...)

Bottom line -- Celeste is a game that I think is good, but not amazing, and also it definitely didn't click with me the way that it did for most people it seems. Probably still worth a shot for most of you, though if you're unsure you can always wait for a sale like I did.

Played and finished Celeste on the Switch after 7 hours. Got 72 out of 175 strawberries and died 1159 times in the process. I played through the main story and didn’t attempt the post-game or the B-Sides of the chapters (that is something I could do in the future).

Celeste is the best the platformer genre has to offer. Tight controls, difficult levels that require precise timing, and a wonderful story. Madeline’s trial of climbing the mountain while fighting with her inner self is conveyed very elegantly and mirrors modern psychological beliefs. It is also a breath of fresh air to see a video game deal with topics such as panic attacks and accepting oneself.

The difficulty was so high at times, that I thought some levels were impossible. Mastering them then made me feel like Madeline must feel – keep pushing and you’ll surpass all odds. I loved this game very much. Also the music was perfect and I loved little details such as how the music became quieter or muffled when Madeline was underwater.

This game is a blast. It is fast-paced and does not lag at all. The spawn speeds are also exceptional. The level designs are amazing and really challenging all the way through. While the game has different stages and a lot of levels they never become repetitive or boring. The game is also constantly evolving with new mechanics and environmental changes. However, not only is the gameplay energetic, the music wonderful, or the art stunning, but the characters are also very memorable and engaging. In addition, the overall game's decision to tackle such a heavy subject manner really impressed me and made me appreciate the game even more. I absolutely love this one and with over 1800 deaths it never made me once angry or annoyed.

There are plenty of well-written positive reviews of this game, which I encourage you to read. Mine isn't meant to be a rebuttal. But since many have already summarized what this game does right, I will be focusing on why I maybe didn't love it as much as everyone else.

My main reason for feeling a bit disappointed comes down to movement. It's tremendously important to a platformer that traversing the environment is inherently fun. I assumed for a while that my dislike of movement in this game came down to controls. But after starting the game on PC, disliking it, moving to Switch, still disliking it, customizing the controls two or three different ways and still disliking it, I think I've realized that I'm just never going to be a fan of the way dashing and grabbing feel in this game. Clearly, others find their groove with it, but I never did.

There are other, smaller reasons the game didn't "wow" me. Chapter 3 made me wish that more chapters had such unique theming and characters. The portrait artwork shown during dialog and cut scenes made me want sprites that are just as expressive. I would have loved to see some of the story beats from Chapters 6 and 7 sprinkled a bit more evenly throughout to keep my interest consistently piqued.

This is certainly a better platformer than I would ever be able to make, and I'm thrilled that so many people are connecting with an independent game tackling such serious and widespread issues. The game's use of color, its environment artwork, interface design, easter eggs and accessibility options all deserve praise. I just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I expected to based on other reviews.

I have nothing to add to the conversation about Celeste.

It's really the amazing platformer everybody says it is. The way is handles its themes about mental issues and dealing with depression is smart and relatable. The Assist Mode is great and should be a standard for more videogames. I really don't have anything to add (I mean, I obviously wrote an article about it in spanish, but is mostly repeating what others have said).

I know a lot of people hate the Epic Games Store because of [fart noises], but I'm really grateful to it because it gave me this game for free.

Celeste is about understanding yourself, about abandoning an adversarial relationship with the darker parts of yourself (the protagonist struggles with anxiety and depression, but I think the themes of the game are widely applicable), and instead understanding where those thoughts, feelings, and behaviors come from, and approaching challenges as a whole person. I should note that it's less self-helpy than it sounds; as someone who struggles with anxiety and depression myself, I never felt like the game was patronizing me or saying that my issues are "just in my head" or whatever (in fact, the game explicitly manifests those issue in physical form). It's really a great story, and one that many people may find useful.

Celeste is also about understanding that every player is different, and this is where it really sets itself apart from other platformers. The challenge of Celeste is integral to the themes of the game, and this idea isn't new (Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy is another well-known example from just a year before Celeste was released). But what makes Celeste different is the Assist Mode. This isn't just a cookie-cutter "Story Only," "Super Easy" mode. Turning Assist Mode on doesn't actually change anything immediately. What it does is let you access four tools that you can use at any point in the game to adjust the challenge level as much or as little as you like. The designers understand that everyone's idea of a challenge is different, so they let people decide that for themselves. And it really is very flexible; you can adjust any of the Assist settings at any point in the game, so if you just need a little bit of help getting past this puzzle you can't quite manage, you can tweak the game just for the 10 seconds it takes to do that and put it back to normal and play on. There are no penalties to using Assist Mode, and the game doesn't make you feel bad about it.

It does make you feel bad about not collecting all the strawberries though. You have been warned.