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“Breathe, just breathe.” Those are the words that will start off your epic journey to climb Celeste Mountain, preparing you for a long and exciting adventure.
“Celeste” is an indie-pixel platformer developed by the creators of “Towerfall,” Matt Makes Games. This game promised a tough as nails platformer with tight physics, and it delivered on that and much more.
“Celeste” has you taking control of a young girl named Madeline who has decided she needs to climb up the mysterious and dangerous Celeste Mountain. She faces incredible challenges along the way, struggling with her crippling anxiety and depression.
Madeline controls like a dream, her jumps are quick and snappy and it feels great just to move around. Along with being able to jump, Madeline can climb any wall she comes in contact with. She also has the ability to do a quick dash in midair to gain some more height allowing her to reach far away ledges.
The level design complements her movement ability in a way I haven’t seen many games do. Each level is designed to use her different abilities in many different and unique ways, while introducing a new mechanic that you must get familiar with and use in a variety of different ways.
For example, in one of the levels there are bubbles that you can touch which will send you flying in a direction of your choosing. You can also dash out of them, making for some exciting new experiences.
In addition to these new mechanics, each level has several different collectibles, including many different strawberries, well-hidden crystal hearts and a cassette tape that lets you play an insanely difficult version of the level you find it in.
Although this game is fun, it’s also incredibly difficult, as deaths come fast and frequently. Luckily, respawn time is almost non existent; as soon as you die you’re right back into the action. This makes deaths a lot less frustrating, and makes you even more determined to try again. Each screen in the game counts as a checkpoint where you will respawn when you die, making the games difficulty a lot more forgiving than similar games in the genre.
One thing I wasn’t expecting when I purchased this game was an amazing story. In most platformers the story usually takes a backseat to gameplay. This isn’t a bad thing, but it’s nice to see they put a lot of effort into the characters and the conflict.
This game provides a deep look into the mind of someone who struggles with mental illness, and the battles they must face every day. Madeline’s anxiety and depression manifest themselves in an evil clone who tries to stop her climb every step of the way.
However, Madeline isn’t alone on this journey; you will encounter several weird and wacky characters along the way. Each character is unique and it’s always interesting to see how Madeline will interact with them. The character Theo is seriously one of the best parts of the game. He’s a goofy, chill dude who always has to stop and take selfies every time you see him.
If the game’s incredible game play and deep story weren’t good enough for you, this game also has an incredible soundtrack. Each track is a joy to listen to and compliments the different environments perfectly.
The visuals in this game are very nice as well; you can tell that they put a ton of effort into each pixel of the game. The art direction that they choose was perfect for the kind of game that it is.
As you can probably tell, I absolutely loved this game. If you have any interest in 2-D platformers, I highly recommend you give this game a try
