Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain Showed Me We Need a Celeste 3D

In celebration of Celeste's sixth anniversary, Extremely OK Games released something unexpected — a 3D entry into the Celeste franchise... or, at least, what feels like a demo of one. Enter Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain, a free, one-hour-long gameplay section that has you exploring the first area of Celeste — the Forsaken City — in a new, 64-inspired 3D environment.

I've fallen head-over-heels for it. 

After having played for about an hour and a half (and finishing everything there was to do in the Forsaken City, though that's also forcing Leet tactics to show my Celeste expertise), Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain opened my eyes to an experience I, genuinely, didn't expect I needed or would love so much. I stumbled upon this by happenstance, a random occurrence that I didn't anticipate, and it became one of the most memorable experiences I've had in 2024 so far.

Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain was built in a week (or a week(ish), according to the team), and it feels so well-polished and enjoyable. From the basics of the dashing and climbing to even the complex like extended hypers and wavedashes, the short experience is genuinely satisfying and keeps the Celeste charm of being able to play both the simple version and incorporating speedrunning techniques to experience a new "journey".

Hilariously, Extremely OK Games took close inspiration from Nintendo — one of my favourite Mario games of all time — Super Mario 64 — and the notorious, all-around hated Special Levels from Super Mario Sunshine. You'll recognise these by their music and the fact that the game's gimmick, your deuteragonist F.L.U.D.D., has been removed from the game, forcing you to do everything without the ever-essential tool.

While Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain didn't remove anything pivotal, these levels (set up as the Casette worlds from the original, though not quite the same as the B- and C-Sides) have an increased difficulty that is reminiscent of later, optional worlds in the first game. And everything, from the sound to the gameplay, just fits so perfectly well in a 3D environment that I struggled to believe something so great was made in just about a week.

What is the consensus of this entire experiment and tear-filled re-exploration of the Celeste world? We desperately need Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain to be real. Sure, it's still technically "real" under the guise of an Itch.io project that's free, and you can experience front-to-back in about an hour, but there is a lot of potential here — it's not perfect, but nothing built in a week should be.

Truth be told, it feels like the natural progression for the franchise. Yes, Extremely OK Games already has their hands full with Earthblade, but I refuse to believe that Madeline's journey ends at the peak of Celeste Mountain. From its PICO-8 roots all the way to Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain, there has to be more to the franchise and her story, and — I'm hoping — that some of the key dialogues by Badeline, and even Theo, are indicators that this isn't a pipedream of a Celeste-starved fan...

...because, after all, The PICO-8 version was the first-ever iteration of Celeste in a four-day game jam; what's stopping Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain from experiencing a similar fate?