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Celeste

Out of the many years I've dedicated to this medium, Celeste is at the very pinnacle of what I would consider some of the finest, fun, personal, and most passionate video games that I have ever played. Celeste is my first and proper exposure to a platformer, and I couldn't have picked a better game to be my teacher. Playing through Celeste felt like an intense emotional journey, and by the time the credits started rolling, I felt as if I've never been more intertwined, both personally and emotionally, with a character's purpose and motivation than I was with Madeline's journey to conqueror Mount Celeste. To understand what makes Celeste feel so unique and fresh to play, I need to go over what I believe to be its best strengths while addressing some of its more questionable and eye-raising design and creative decisions.
What I Loved About Celeste ▼
1. The Story
An odd thing to praise considering most platformers are not known for their stories, but Celeste is unlike most. More than a few people have said that Celeste is a fantastic example of a video game serving as a catalyst for positive change, and as ridiculous as that sounds at first, I think they might be right. Regardless of where one is in life, Celeste deals with themes and topics we can all relate to and understand: Self-loathing, self-forgiveness, the courage to face your problems, and finding inner strength to grow. And Maddy, the writer of Celeste, executed her themes perfectly without it ever sounding cliche, sappy, or preachy. As a result, the journey of Madeline becomes the journey of the player, and at the risk of sounding overly sentimental, I feel like I've grown too. Becoming kinder, not only to myself but also to other people. It's a story I'm sure many players could identify with, and I hope they come to appreciate it as much as I do.
P.S. - Not since BioShock have I seen a story so beautifully interwoven into its gameplay and mechanics. They compliment each other so well, and I can't praise it enough.
2. The Sadistic Gameplay
It's not an exaggeration when I say that Celeste is perhaps the most difficult game I've come to complete. But damn, is it f#cking good! The gameplay is tighter than a my lawyer has advised me not to finish this joke. The level designs are as creative as it is challenging, always pushing players past their comfort zones and never being afraid to demand mechanical proficiency from their audience. Every chapter introduces something new to spice up the gameplay, and it's rewarding to beat like any skill-based game should. It's addicting, and I couldn't get enough of it. It's Precision Puzzle Platformer done right.
3. The Phenomenal Soundtrack
Composed by Lena Raine, the OST is nothing short of a certified banger. Every track captures the mood and feeling of the game perfectly and is undoubtedly the secret sauce behind the magic of Celeste. It's the cherry on top of gargantuan proportion, and also serves as the player's comforting orchestra of failure as you accidentally dash yourself into yet another wall of spikes for the hundredth times, and wonder why god hates you. But hey, at least the beautiful music soothes the pain. Jokes aside, it's definitely a strong contender for one of my favorite soundtracks of all time.
4. The Art
What else can I say that you can't already see for yourself? The game's freaking gorgeous. It's colorful, cute, and oozes personality thanks to its strong visual style and presentation. The artists did a terrific job with Celeste. Enough said.
5. The Strawberries
Celeste is one of the few games that manages to implement hard mode in one of the cleverest ways I've seen yet. Whereas most games asked you to choose a difficulty option before starting, Celeste took another route and embedded its hard mode directly into the gameplay using strawberry collectibles. They act almost like bait, luring and enticing players to come and get them, but with a catch: They're always situated in the most dicey and difficult-to-reach spot on the stage. And since these strawberries are entirely optional to collect, they act as a brilliant way to subtly and subconsciously encourage players to be adventurous with their risk-taking without ever forcing anything on them.
What I Not So Loved About Celeste ▼
1. The Epilogues
Chapters eight and nine serve as the epilogues, and in my opinion, they are entirely unnecessary and pointless additions to what was otherwise an already perfect ending. Chapter seven acts as the emotional climax for Madeline's character arc and finishes her story with hopeful optimism that leaves players happy, satisfied, and content. It left them on an emotional high point, and that's where the story should've stopped. Why bring her back only to introduce so little in the way of narrative significance? The epilogues needlessly extended the run time for what is little more than side stories. Think about the endings to all your favorite games and movies. Now imagine what would happen if they were all extended by another two hours. Exactly, the emotional pacing would be compromised.
2. The Insane Difficulty
Specifically, chapters eight and nine including B-sides and C-sides. Before anybody starts losing respect for me due to this criticism, let me explain. I've never been one to complain about a game being too punishing. Truthfully, not even once. So, believe me when I say the difficulties of Celeste's epilogues and side content border on the insane and the unreasonable. To put it into perspective, has anyone seen those crazy viral Super Mario Maker levels where it's so tough that only a handful of people have managed to beat it? Yeah, Celeste is not only kissing that, but also giving it a run for its money. When something is that unbalanced and hellish to complete, is it even fun anymore? What's the point? I'm sorry, but when most of your players have no idea how to even begin to solve your platforming puzzles, let alone possesses the mechanical mastery needed to execute them, and have to rely on in-game-provided cheats to have any hope of beating your content, that's going a step too far in my personal opinion. Moreover, because these stages are so challenging and often long, they quickly devolve into a frustrating cycle that forces players to engage in trial-and-error gameplay loops that does nothing but infuriate them and increases burnout. I love hard games, but this is simply too much.
My Final Thoughts
Aside from those two criticisms, all in all, I loved Celeste and thoroughly enjoyed my time with it to summit and back. For an indie studio, Maddy Makes Games had achieved success that most teams can only dream of, and they did it all while laying their hearts on the table and, with grits, delivered us one of the finest and most memorable platformers of all time. Celeste is a genuine masterpiece, and I couldn't end my review without lauding it otherwise. It was a magical experience, one I won't soon forget, and probably never will.