It's hard to believe that it's over, isn't it? Funny, how we get attached to the struggle
A few years ago, I first played Celeste but for some reason, I put the game down, now, three years later, I decided to play the game again. In some ways, I am surprised that I put this game down due to how amazing it actually is. However, I am also glad I played the game at this time so I can give it a proper review, as this game rightfully deserves it.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Wonderfully crafted story that tackles mental illness
Fun and well-crafted characters that are likable
Challenging gameplay that is very fun
Fun collectibles for you to go out and find
Very nice soundtrack that is great to listen to
Beautiful 2D pixel art style
Cons
Requires precision in your reaction and platforming
Story
The story of Celeste starts out with Madeline, who goes to Mount Celeste with the goal of climbing to the top. Along the way, she deals with the mountain obstacles that block her path and herself. An Old Woman tells Madeline that climbing Mount Celeste is a foolish idea and that she should turn back but Madeline refuses and presses on.
The story for Celeste is absolutely wonderful and tackle's the theme of mental illness very well, by showing the hard ships of it and ways to overcome them. The characters (five in total) are all likeable, well developed, and amazing. My favorite character has to be Theo, who is laid back and very friendly and helps Madeline in a few situations that she has gotten stuck in. I also really liked Madeline. I appreciate how the developers portrayed her and her mental health issues in the game, and they did a fantastic job showing how Madeline handled things.
The story all around for Celeste is really well done and I think those that are interested in playing this game, will definitely have an amazing time going through it.
Gameplay
Celeste is a 2D platformer that is very simple but has some challenging gameplay tied to it. You will be jumping and dashing your way across platforms, with the addition of having the ability to climb walls. You do have a limit on your stamina and will fall if it runs out but wall jumping does deplete stamina on wall climbing but at a much less pace than actually climbing. You can only dash once, the only time for you to get your dash back is by either stepping on a platform or getting a green star to give your dash back. There is an upgrade later in the game that you can find that will give you a second dash to help reach farther platforms.
You will die, a lot, and you will die in one hit, so be careful, although you can use that death as a learning experience. I honestly liked the challenge that Celeste provided and it did feel fair for someone who has played a bunch of 2D platformers.
There are also some collectibles that you can find as well, like collecting strawberries which will determine what ending you get in the game but it only determines what the final image is. There is only one ending in the game, so it does not matter how many strawberries you collect, although I like collecting them personally as they are my favorite fruit. You can also find Golden Strawberries but to get those, you have to beat the chapter without dying once, so that’s another layer of challenge added.
There are a total of 9 chapters in the game, although two of them are bonus chapters that can only be accessed if you are someone who likes to go out of their way to collect things in the game. These chapters are a bit harder than the seven that you can play initially, with the final chapter of course being the hardest.
Celeste has some very fun gameplay that I think people who are up to the challenge can complete but I say that for a very good reason. Celeste requires you, the player to have some precise reaction times when it comes to its platforming and movement. So, if you are someone who is not really good at doing that, then this will not be a fun game for you. Unless you of course want that, then by all means get the game, I am just pointing out a potential problem you may face while playing. There is a difficulty that will make the game extremely easy but that ruins the challenge of the game.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Celeste is very nice, I loved how vibrant the songs were and they were fantastic to listen to. They capture the feel of the game's locations very well to make them feel alive and unique. You can buy the soundtrack for $10.29 CDN,
Graphics and Performance
Celeste is a beautifully crafted game with its 2D pixel art style, there is so much to love when looking at how colorful it is. Everything about the game on how it looks is astounding and I loved how it all looked. I tested the game on an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB, AMD Ryzen 5 1500X Quad-Core Processor 3.50, 16 GB of RAM. I experienced no issues while playing and the game can run on low-end computers with no issues whatsoever as it’s not a demanding game.
Final Verdict
Celeste is a really good platformer that I think all fans of the genre should try out at least once. It has everything that someone who loves these types of games has that makes it shine on what it can show and it there are many more things I have not talked about in this review, that’s in this game. If you want a challenging platformer with many secrets, collectibles, and a great story, this is the game.