Celeste (2018)

This game is a standout indie platformer on PC that balances demanding gameplay with a surprisingly touching story. On the surface, it’s a precision platformer, the MC is called Madeline on her climb up the mysterious Celeste Mountain. The controls are simple, jump, dash, and climb, but the way these mechanics are layered creates an incredible amount of depth. Even though the formula is so simply that is even considered saturated nowadays, it is masterfully executed, proving that we don't need to escalate game complexity in order to deliver an amazing gaming experience.

Every level introduces new twists that keep the challenge fresh, and while it can be brutally difficult, it never feels unfair. Each failure is a lesson, and every success feels immensely rewarding. What makes Celeste truly special, though, is its emotional core, the game explores themes like anxiety, depression, and self-doubt in a way that’s sincere and relatable, giving the climb symbolic weight. I cannot related to the main point this game is trying to make since I've never experienced any of that, but I can totally see this hitting hard if you have lived any of the mental issues this game is trying to convey.

Madeline’s personal struggles mirror the obstacles the player faces, making progress feel both mechanical and emotional. This is reinforced by gorgeous pixel art and a phenomenal soundtrack, which shifts between tranquil and intense depending on the moment. This game really has almost zero to no flaws, the art, pacing, difficulty, level design and OST, it is simply one of the highest quality the gaming industry has every provided.

Ultimately, this is more than just a tough platformer, it’s a deeply human story wrapped in clever design, it sets a new bar on videogame storytelling, I highly recommend not skipping this one if you like platformers to any extend. I also recommend trying to 100% it, but only if you like masochist-level of difficulty, though the little secrets here and there (like the Piko8 cartridges) are already enough for some people. Fun fact: this game was originally developed using the Piko8 game-engine, which was originally intended to be used as a prototyping engine.

PRECISION PLATFORMER - A challenging platformer that sees Madeline trying to climb Celeste mountain, while confronting physical and emotional obstacles along the way.

PROS:

++ Precise and satisfying platforming. One of the tightest and most polished platforming games I've played. Madeline can only jump, dash, and climb the wall for a limited time, but those three mechanics are perfected and are utilized so well in every chapter. The game is tough, but it feels so invigorating when you're on a roll and when you finally beat a difficult screen. The mechanics are simple, but also have great depth as seen in the harder B-Side and C-Side levels.

++ Gradual addition of gameplay mechanics. Every chapter, something gets added to the core platforming loop and it mixes up the gameplay well, providing new challenges for the player to conquer.

++ Excellent presentation. The art style and music are great.

++ Fun boss fights.

++ Difficult, but fair, level design.

++ Tons of content. Didn't play it yet, but those who love challenging themselves will have lots to do after main campaign (collecting all strawberries, B-Side, C-Side, Chapters 8 & 9). Doing all the advanced content will give you dozens more hours of gameplay.

CONS:

-- Disappointing story. I wasn't incredibly moved by the story, and I think I expected too much from it based on the reviews I read which only sang its praises.

-- No unlockables. Wish there was more incentive to collect strawberries, like more customization options for example.

Hi, I tested this game bacause it was on TOP 3 average rating with 2000++ rates. I think there is bots on this website because it's impossible to put that game on Top3 with GTAV and RDR2... Maybe i'm wrong and maybe someone can explain why it's the better game of the world. I'm disapointed because i sign up on this website to find good games on my games list but bots always do bullshit... I suggest to use captcha for votes.

But comparing to other plateformer like, it's a pretty game, maybe 3 stars max. So i decide to give only one to make this game where it must be. It's the last levels of AlexKid lol Maybe i would give 5 stars in 1995 xD But i don't think so.

Celeste is a platformer that keeps it simple in the best way possible, it's as forgiving as it is unforgiving and honestly my favorite platformer I've played in a while. I beat the main game in about 8 hours, but there's plenty to do afterwards. Personally I'm working my way through all the extra content right now.

I honestly can't think of any cons for this title, it's just a solid platformer with great art, music and game mechanics. I got real nostalgic playing it since it reminded me of the days I spent as a kid playing flash games on newgrounds 😄.

A bit of a warning the game does touch on some heavy subjects but it does it in a simple way IMO, while I appreciate the story Its not the main draw of this title. Though I do like that the characters are charming and the story motivates you to get Madeline to the summit of the mountain. Also the sound they use when people speak is great.

Not much more I can say other than that I highly recommend this game if your into platformers that challenge your skills.

As someone who isn't very good at games like this, I initially bouced off when I reached a spot that blocked me. After a few months I re-engaged and things clicked. I stopped going for the berries and just started playing and I'm happy to say I beat the game without assist mode. Generally found this to be the most enjoyable "hard platformer" I've played and definitely found myself feeling like I mastered things that were previously hard.

I played on the switch mostly in handheld which I'm sure didn't make my hands happy, but it also means I can return to this game on the go. I actually left the game ready to jump back in and find the secrets and berries and I'm sure this will be a regular revisit for me on planes or in hotels as there is so much more content.

Celeste stands out from a crop of cute-ified indie platformers with its punishing platforming that recalls more utilitarian games like Super Meat Boy. It frames its levels with hand-drawn art that dramatizes the pixel action we see on screen. In a neat touch, the characters have "voices" that are just little tones that convey a lot of emotion. Unfortunately the story is more or less dramatically inert, with a Barney the Dinosaur-level take on depression and anxiety that I would be embarrassed by even if I were a kid.

The moment-by-moment gameplay in Celeste is very pleasurable. Each new screen contains the promise of a new puzzle to solve. I was more bothered by the structure of the levels overall. Frequently you will encounter a fork in the road that will take you a few screens before you realize you have advanced beyond the point of convergence, meaning it's difficult or impossible to navigate back to the screens you didn't play, requiring you to replay the level if you want to get all the items. As a completionist, I more or less gave up on trying to collect all items once I realized this, because I don't really enjoy having to do through-runs of lengthy levels I've already completed. This game sort of exists somewhere between a Metroid-style exploration game and a Sonic the Hedgehog-style reflexive speed test, but the level layouts are not as cohesive as a Metroid game's, and the game's levels themselves are not as short or memorable as a Sonic game's.

The ending, while fun, feels a little anticlimactic, with a bravura sequence the emotional effect of which recalls the finale of thatgamecompany's Journey. This sequence incorporates characteristics from various levels and asks the player to sort of recall all the different approaches for each. But it felt to me like there was a missed opportunity to introduce one final gameplay twist beyond "let's do it again, but make it extra," something that might have exploded our understanding of the game. Instead it opts for the safe route.

If, unlike me, you enjoy the overall rhythm of the game enough to dig into the extras, there is a frankly surprising amount of content here for you.

Played digital copy on Nintendo Switch.

Celeste is a good game. It is also the most frustrating game I've played in a really long time. Platformers are probably my second favorite genre and and I was excited to get to this one, finally.

I think I learned something about myself playing this game. That I don't think splatformers (like Super Meat Boy and VVVVV) are really a genre that works super well for me. I don't want to die and die and die and die over and over and over again. It's incredibly frustrating. And while the game is pixel perfect and it has great controls there is still a modicum of luck that is involved with some of these jumps and dashes. Sure, you can get good enough to where there isn't any luck, but your first time through this game there is bound to be a shred of it mixed into your recipe. Sure, sure, you can put assist mode on, but to me that's not how the dev wants you to play, if possible. I was adamant I finish this game without assist mode. Which I (proudly) did.

The graphics on this game were great. I loved them. The pixels were vibrant and the animations were great. If you like beautiful pixel art then you aren't gonna have much to complain about here, because it's spot on.

The music was wonderful too. Sometimes ebbing and flowing as you go higher or lower on the mountain. It was well implemented in boss fights as well, ratcheting up the tension to the perfect degree. Until you get so frustrated that the music doesn't do anything for you anymore because you just want past a certain part. Which really takes away from the beautiful sound this game has to show off. All in all though, beautiful.

And the story. This is why I think the game has been regarded in such high praises. It really is a wonderful story. And while nearly everyone says it's about mental health, and I'm not going to disagree with that at all, I also think the game can be about understanding yourself better. Everyone has demons they have to face inside themselves and this is about that in some way. And while I think the hype surrounding the story ruined it for me a little, it is no less than great. Really great.

Overall this game was fun. I certainly feel accomplished having finished it without turning on assist mode once, but at what price, haha. I was joking with my wife about how this game is supposed to tell a story about mental health and I think it's giving me mental health problems. Jokes aside though, if you are up for the challenge (or wanna see the story through with assist mode) then you aren't gonna find a splatformers better than this.

Hey, there! Have you ever wanted to get kicked in the balls thousands of times over a ten-hour timeframe?

Well, then! 1) What the hell is wrong with you? And, 2) have I got a game for you!

Before I unload my harvested stores of anger & frustration that this game cultivated, I'll say some nice things. The music is absolutely superb. The animated character portraits and dialog "bwah-bwahs" during interludes are super-expressive (especially for the so-called "Badeline" character) and they do an awesome job of conveying emotion. And side character Theo is kind of cool.

Moving on... If you consider yourself a speed runner and/or love punishing yourself with repetitive, soul-destroying platforming, this game is perfect for you. You're tasked time & time again to learn & complete sequences of mind-numbing millisecond-timed controller feats. Unless you're a complete psychopath, you will fail each new room -- over & over & over. Hundreds, and thousands, and more thousands of times you will fail. A game that starts with shades of challenging fun becomes a practice in absolute brain-breaking frustration. As a casual platforming gamer, I thought the Ori games were challenging. This is easily five times tougher.

Unlike true Metroidvanias, your moveset in Celeste is actually fairly limited. You can jump. You can cling onto & climb walls (for a limited time until your strength drains and you fall). Sometimes you can fly (too quickly to easily control). And you can double-jump (but for some obnoxious reason, using a different button than your first jump).

The story... The internet seems to universally praise it. But, it bothered me. A lot. It starts out as a somewhat metaphorical tale of tackling and overcoming anxiety and depression. Then, in typical modern day fashion, Celeste encourages you to actually embrace and groom your mental illness like a goddamn Pokémon pal. Now that you're part of the anxiety/depression fandom, you can do things you never could! "Level up!", you get the triple-jump! Thank you, debilitating mental conditions! What the actual fuck, Celeste?

This game has been hyped to the stratosphere, and I went into it with soaring high expectations. Unfortunately, when I finally had my chance to play it, I utterly despised it. As much as I eventually found that I loathed Celeste, I couldn't give up after getting as far as I already did, nor could I turn on the "Assist" cheat mode. After hate-playing my way through the main story mode and seeing the closing credits, I'll admit that I do feel a certain sense of accomplishment. Nonetheless, as someone who doesn't completely hate myself, I've got to say: Fuck the Core and the B- and C-sides. Fuck those collectible strawberries. And.... Fuck. This. Game.

The sense of wanting to escape. To get rid of everything in your head that makes you feel miserable. Undertaking something that you know you can't do but still give everything from yourself for the sake of completing this task, that you gave yourself in belief it will make things better. And the sense of accomplishment that pumps up your blood and rises your spirits when you finally succeed in the thing you didn't feel is possible.

That was this game for me. It was an experience, and boy what an experience it was. I didn't know a thing before starting my journey. I learned and learned and just when I mastered a skill, the game threw a new challenge at me. It took my skills and continued to give me more and more space for improvement. It kept amplifying the efforts I had to put in to succeed. I was never bored and I never felt too overwhelmed by its undeniable difficulty.

There was a gentle flow to it. The game always remained in the golden middle ground between skill needed and challenge given.

I resonated on a very personal level with the story. It made me cry. It made me realize things about myself I thought I knew but didn't. It put everything I hate about myself in new light.

If you haven't played this masterpiece, do it. This game has a purpose - in its gameplay, in its music, in its story. It's a beautiful adventure, worth getting through. I won't talk about what it is like any further. It's better to find out yourself. If you've played it, you would know what I'm talking about. If you haven't - go climb that Mountain. And then climb your own Mountain - the one that consists of your own life. Learn from your mistakes and don't fear failure. Every overcome obstacle makes you even stronger. But you'll realize what even without me telling.

This I learned from the game and so much more (but telling you would be spoilers so shhhh). This writing has barely scratched the surface. "Celeste" was a journey I'll never forget and I'll forever be thankful for myself for deciding to check it out. That was the best quality spending of my free time.

Celeste is a challenging indie 2D platformer in which the protagonist, Madeline, must make her way up an impossibly tall mountain while also coming to terms with some unpleasant truths about herself. This game has been getting exceptionally high praise and even though it was released in January, it's already said to be in Game of the Year contention at many gaming outlets. With a 2D platformer on Switch getting this much attention, I naturally had to see what all the hype was about. These were my take-aways upon finishing the campaign:

• Like any good platformer, Celeste's controls feel good and are extremely simple but difficult to master. Madeline can jump, climb, and air dash - that's it. While in the air, she only gets one dash before she touches the ground again and when climbing she has finite stamina that's represented by her animations rather than a meter. Once I got the hang of these moves, comboing them up to navigate mazes of spikes and moving platforms was very satisfying.
• In addition to the basic move set, each of the game's seven main levels introduces a new mechanic that adds a wrinkle to the platforming action and helps keep the gameplay fresh. These level-specific mechanics come in forms such as special moving platforms, launch pads, and weather effects.
• Celeste's collectibles and bonus stages (strawberries and b-sides respectively) allow for opportunities for extra challenge for those who want it. Players with a penchant for completionism may find themselves beating their heads against the wall to get every strawberry. However, the game makes a point of discouraging this play style by repeatedly reminding you that collecting strawberries offers no reward other than satisfaction and bragging rights.
• I died a lot (1665 times in the main campaign to be precise) but never got discouraged. The fact that reviving after a death is immediate and frictionless made it very easy to say "One more try and I'll get it!" rather than just putting the game down.
• There were a few frustrating parts in the later part of the game: a boss battle that went on a little too long and some particularly lengthy platform sequences. These tricky platforming sequences would involve making blind leaps and then having to quickly react in mid-air. I mostly got through these parts via trial, error, and memorization. There are probably players out there skilled enough to tackle some of these obstacles on the fly; I'm just definitely not one of those players.
• I played the game entirely in handheld mode using the Joy-con's analog stick for movement. This worked but having a real D-pad, like on the Pro Controller, would be preferable.
• Coping with mental illness has become a trendy theme in indie game stories lately but this one handles it well. Despite the game's simple presentation, I found myself far more invested in the story than I expected. It also helped that the heavier themes were occasionally broken up with lighter moments that featured some witty dialog.
• This game's music is low-key but really suits the tone of each stage. The composer did a fantastic job with the mix of synth and piano tracks that transition smoothly between sad, hopefully, mysterious, and triumphant moods.

I wasn't sure if a high-difficulty platformer would be my thing, but Celeste really worked for me. Every time it began to feel like a struggle, I'd manage to make it through; the feeling of accomplishment as I finished each stage was great. On top of the challenge and tight mechanics. Celeste's story, characters, and writing were a pleasant surprise. The campaign wasn't especially long but there's plenty of extra content there (collectible, B-sides, and C-sides) for those who crave more; for me, however, the critical path was just enough to satisfy without outstaying its welcome. Celeste comes with my highest possible recommendation for 2D platformer fans.

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