Celeste#

Steam is currently hosting their beloved Sumer Sale, and I decided to pick up Celeste this time. I’m no stranger to Celeste though, I’ve played the game on my switch back in 2021 and remarkably I loved the game so much I finished it on a single session all the way until 6 am.

In fact I think so highly of Celeste that I decided to purchase it again just so I could experience the game another time on PC or on my Steam Deck (which is now better than ever).

This review probably won’t be as long and as thorough as my other reviews because I believe a big factor for Celeste is the experience you have while playing and how it is different for every player. Let’s dive in

Introduction#

If you’ve never heard of Celeste, it is a Pixel Art platformer launched in 2018. The first version of Celeste was a game made for the Pico 8 fantasy console, if you don’t know what that is take a look. The game was developed by Maddy Thorson and Noel Berry in collaboration with the studio MiniBoss.

Random Fact: Have you ever heard about being 6 handshakes away from anyone? On my university I’ve studied with professors who taught one of the artists on the Celeste team. I was a few years late though.

Even though it’s a game focused on the mechanical aspect of platformers, the game contains an excellently written story. The story goes over insecurities, finding purpose and most of all healing. I won’t go over it in detail because I don’t want to spoil the game, but rest assured it is brilliant and both times I played I felt very touched and connected to it.

Gameplay#

I consider celeste to be a simple platformer,, the game offers you simple controls:

  • You can walk
  • You can jump
  • You can dash

Every other mechanic they present in the game grows from these three, with a few examples:

  • Clouds which make you jump higher
  • Platforms that activate when you dash on them
  • Bubbles that take you on a single direction
  • Platforms that boost your movement speed
  • Wind and Rain which hinder or speed up your movement

I believe that’s the key to Celeste gameplay being so great: you have simple building blocks that can be combined to create complex and satisfying gameplay. And the complexity in gameplay is gradually incremented until you reach the summit, which is where I finished my playthrough.

From the very first chapter until the 7th you’ll become a better player and by the end of the game you’ll have to perform very tricky and very rewarding levels. It is as if the start was a Mario game and the finale was a Kaizo smm2 Level.

Soundtrack#

One aspect that personally can transform a good game into a great game is the soundtrack, and Celeste nails it. They use a clear motif throughout the entire soundtrack but adapted to the chapter you’re currently playing, and it all comes together in chapter 7, which you experience them all in a short amount ot time.

This sound track is so great that whenever I’m watching a youtube video and the creator uses the soundtrack in the background, I’m instantly transported to the feeling of playing the game again. It’s really a great job by the developers and composers.

Length#

To end the praises to Celeste, one last topic I like to touch is the game length: I beat it in around 6 hours both times. I don’t need games to be extremely long or padded out in purpose. When I see news that a game will feature over 200 hours in main story content (light exaggeration) it does the opposite effect, it puts me off from playing it. I much rather play a 6 hour game which will impact me positively for the rest of my life than to play a 200 hour game I’ll forget in a year.

Final Thoughts#

Celeste is a must play regardless of which gamer type you are. It is truly one of the best games I’ve ever played and it has deeply impacted my experience with games

I award Celeste a 10/10

As always, here’s a song: