Celeste (NSW) Review

Facing your fears.

 Celeste is the latest game from the team at Matt Makes Games, better known as the developers of the widely entertaining, TowerFall. It follows a young girl's quest to climb a deadly mountain while also attempting to conquer her inner demons. At first, I didn't think I was going to enjoy Celeste, but after taking the time to properly play, it easily struck me as one of the year's best surprises.


 We follow the adventure of Madeline, who in spite of constant self-doubt, aims to climb Mount Celeste in order to prove her worth in life while coming to terms with a physical manifestation of her insecurities. What starts out as a simple enough quest of facing one's fears quickly turns to one with valuable lessons such as the importance of self-confidence and acceptance. What ultimately won over to the story where the unique characters such as the likes of fame-hungry adventurer, Theo, and the wacky hotel owner, Mr. Oshiro. However, Madeline ended up being a relatable lead whom grows significantly over the course of the story.

The story's relatable and the cast 

of characters are charming.

 Celeste is a 2D platformer where you control Madeline as she navigates through increasingly difficult stages. Madeline can jump and briefly dash to reach certain platforms while also being able to grip to walls for a short time. Each chapter has its own gimmicks that utilizes Madeline's dash ability as with the case of using blocks, which only move after you dash at a specific direction, and platforms that change positions after a dash. These start simple enough, though not for long as the game changes things up frequently by adding lots of hazards and walls of spikes along the way. As a result, Celeste will require quick timing and sometimes even pixel-perfect reflexes to pull of some of the later levels.

Prepare to die again and again (and again).

 Thankfully, the game never once felt unfair as most of my deaths attributed to me messing up a dash or even mistiming a jump. The controls are sharp but can become flimsy when using the analog stick, making the D-pad a more reliable method of moving around. If you're playing on the Switch, then you'll know that the D-pad sucks with its button-based form and to that I'd recommend using the pro controller instead if you have it. Initially, it was disheartening having to constantly die just to get through a small segment of a level but I've later came to realize that dying is part of the core gameplay and learning from your mistakes is the only way to get through the hard parts of the game. What I'm basically saying here is that you don't have to give up as there's room for you get better and as a result, have an easier time with the adventure.

 Still, those seeking an even more easier experience will be glad to know that there's an Assist Mode, in which you can tailor the difficulty of the game to your liking. It's especially helpful when attempting to practice some of the harder levels. Celeste took me 7 hours to beat, which may not seem like much but there's a handful of collectables that'll make you explore the levels a bit in the game. These include Strawberries, which only serve as bragging rights since they're practically useless; B-Side cassette tapes, which are extremely hard levels that will put your reflexes to the test; and Blue Hearts cleverly tucked away in each chapter that upon collecting four, will unlock an additional eighth chapter.

 Celeste features the typical retro visuals we've seen in many indie games these days and while not the most detailed, it's still vibrant and colorful to watch. Character sprites also look great as well as some of the game's visual effects. The sound effects were also great as I liked some of the gibberish sounds of the characters and the soundtrack, composed by Lena Raine, is an absolute standout with a great mix between synth and piano-based tracks that were a pleasure to listen. Some tracks that I loved are: "Resurrections", "Checking In", "Confronting Myself", and "Quiet and Failing".

While not mind-blowing, the visuals are a 

treat to look at nonetheless.

 With heart-warming storytelling, accompanied by relatable characters and challenging gameplay, Celeste is easily among my favorite games of the year. I'm not usually a fan of games where constant dying is a part of the experience, but that changed a bit after my time with Celeste. Unlike much faster-paced platformers, Celeste is the type of game that you should take your time with and put the effort into mastering its mechanics instead. I can't recommend it for players looking to breeze through a small indie as you'll be surprised at how tough the levels are, but for the persistent ones out there, give Celeste a shot.