My Thoughts On Celeste

Celeste is one of the best 2D platformers of 2018. It's about the journey of a young girl climbing a mountain. Along the way she meets a few people and stumbles upon some very... interesting secrets about the mountain. You move by dashing, jumping, or wall climbing (until you run out of stamina). On the surface it doesn't seem to have much to offer, though as you sink into it, it has a lot of game on its bones along with a nice story.

What really stands out about Celeste is its whimsical approach to level design and its massive creativity. Every single mechanic is used in countless ways that keeps the player on their toes and prods the player's imagination. In the first level you discover this traffic light block that moves rapidly in one direction before resetting. Then you realize that its momentum can rocket you across the level with the right timing. Then you get this space block that shots you through it using your dash. Later you get a feather that allows you to move in any direction for a short period of time. And once you've seen all the mechanics, they continue to combine them in ways you couldn't imagine.

If the gameplay was this good without a story, it would've been fine already. Though another thing Celeste does well is telling a story that complements the gameplay. So many games have this stark disconnect between their gameplay and their story, which interrupts the flow of the game. Though Celeste overcomes this challenge by the story creating this tone that, "You can get through this," which helps especially when you keep dying over and over again (and you will).

Which brings me to my final point: the difficulty. This is definitely above average difficulty. It's fair and doable for newcomers, but it is challenging. In my first playthrough blind I had about 3000 deaths under 15 hours. On my second play through for 100% completion (without the Core), I had about 2200 deaths under 11 hours. Though trust me, you'll get through it. And if you really can't do it, just use Assist Mode and become invincible. You can always use it and the game will still grant completion if you do. Though you really shouldn't have to use it.

So is this game worth your time? Yes. Even if you never played a full platformer like myself, this game is a little gem. One thing I should mention though; B-sides and C-sides.

THESE LEVELS ARE PURE EVIL!!!

They unlock after you find the mix tape in every regular level and are much harder than the regular ones. I highly recommend that you play through them after the main game. I've only completed the first two, and I had about 600 deaths in total so far. Some people even have 4k deaths on one level alone. So just complete the main game first and you should be relatively fine. You don't gain much by completing them besides unlocking the B and C sides of the Core (basically the ultimate bonus stage).

 

This game was hard. Like, Im not good at platformers, even if I ADORE them. This game kicked my ass. But I love the pure little game so much!

 

I’m currently on the B side of Chapter 5. It’s ok so far, I’m just worried at Chapter 3’s and 7’s...

 

Celeste is an amazing game with equally amazing music. I had a ton of playing the game, although I still haven't tried the C-Slides. Screw those, I don't have inhuman reflexes!

 

They are shorter though, so maybe I might try them out after I complete all the B-sides.

Side note, was I the only one that didn't like the remix of the Chapter 1 B-side? I liked Chapter 3's and 5's the best, but the rest were... meh.

 

Quick edit btw. For those completionists out there, I should tell you this. If you manage to complete Core B-side, every level will have a golden strawberry at the beginning of it. In order to collect it, one must not die throughout the entire level. These golden strawberries aren't required for any achievement and as far as I know there are no in game rewards for it. I highly recommend not trying to get them. The designer never intended for them to be possible to get on regular mode. You'll drive yourself insane just attempting it, and it'll be extremely difficult to prove that you did it.

So please for the love of God, don't attempt to get the golden strawberries. No one has officially done it, and it's not worth your time.