Just like Sonic according to all youtubers, Celeste had a rough transition into 3D. I just finished playing through Celeste 64 and even if the game has a lot of troubles with the issues specific to 3D games, I had a lot of fun playing through it. It's a short game made to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the game, and it's a very fun experience that I would recommend to all fans of the genre.

The game is a sequel to 2019's Celeste, made in the style of a Nintendo 64 collectathon platformer. The presentation of the game is incredible. Personally, I don't think the game manages to mimic the look of N64 games perfectly, however its art style still feels nostalgic and is a lot more pleasant to look at than some games of the era.

The game does have a story too! Kinda. It takes place a long time after Farewell (the DLC for Celeste), and Madeline is going through some changes in her life. So, in order to get ready for that, she decides to go through her memories and catch up with the characters of the original game. It's a really cute premise that fleshes out the world of Celeste, and it's something that fans of the original games will love. I'm a bit dissappointed that the game doesn't really have an ending, though, you just collect everything and then you close it.

The map design isn't anything special, but it's still fun to play through. You're dropped into an open-world based on the Forsaken City from the original game and it's your job to collect the 30 strawberries hidden throughout the map. Most of them are rewards for completing platforming challenges, but some of them are hidden in secret areas of the map or locked behind puzzles. I really like the inclusion of strawberries as the equivalent of a Mario 64 Power Star, as it's a clever twist on the collectathon formula using the already existing Celeste collectibles, and possibly the best way they could've implemented this.

You can also find cassette tapes, which in the original game gave you access to the B-Side remix stages, but now they drop you into a platforming challenge inspired by the bonus levels of Super Mario Sunshine (as most indie collectathons do) where you can get a strawberry when getting to the end. All of these challenges are based around one mechanic from the game, and while they can be really fun, if the mechanic is poorly implemented then playing through these challenges becomes absolutely miserable.

Which brings me to the final part of my review: The movement! Because boy is it rough! Unlike the 2019 game, the platforming of Celeste 64 isn't based on momentum, which means that the movement as a whole is a lot slower and floaty. It's not as tight and always feels like you're either overshooting every jump and have to correct your course while in the air. And don't get me started on climbing, because it's just so inconsistent and negatively affects the level design to account for its new infinite duration. I understand that a new dimension means fundamentally changing how the movement of Celeste works, but it really makes the game a slog at certain points.

But the game was made in like a week so it gets a pass.

IN CONCLUSION: Celeste 64 is a fun experience. It's a game lovingly made to celebrate the 6th anniversary of Celeste, and it's a must-play for all fans of the original. While the movement isn't as precise as I'd like it to be, and the level design feels disjointed in some areas, it's still incredible how good this game is given the short development time it had. 7/10