Celeste Review

Take control of Madeline, a girl that has set her mind on climbing Celeste Mountain in order to prove something to herself. The climb won't be simple, however, as you'll face several supernatural factors that stand in your way and platforming challenges that are sure to kill you at least a couple of hundred times.

Playing as Madeline and interacting with the handful of characters in the story is delightful, with a quirky cast that often say funny and chuckle-worthy comments. Some of the characters include Theo, the aspiring InstaPix influencer that is climbing the mountain to gain more followers; Old Woman (yes, that's her name), an elderly lady that lives on the mountain; and Mr. Oshiro, the long-deceased owner of the Celestial Resort. You'll soon come to realise that everyone on Celeste Mountain has unfinished business, as every character present seems to struggle with something or another. This becomes a recurring mental health theme throughout, and is easily one of my favourite features in Celeste.

Whenever you aren't trying to exhaust Theo's dialogue in hopes of getting just one more funny line, you'll spend your time climbing the mountain. Celeste Mountain pulls no punches, as straight from the get-go the game is punishingly hard with its platforming puzzles. With well over 700 screens spanning nine chapters (including an epilogue), Celeste will have you at the edge of your seat in hopes of accomplishing that final tight jump to make it through the puzzle.

The gameplay ties in so beautifully with the story; as you progress, the climb continues getting harder and steeper, offering a sense of accomplishment once you've reached the summit.

Scattered throughout the multiple levels are optional strawberry collectibles; these are completely optional but offer a nice challenge for anyone acquiring them. These aren't the only such treasures present in the game, however, as Celeste also has numerous others with increasing levels of difficulty, such as the notorious golden strawberry, which will have you playing throughout the entire level without dying.

Every level also has both a B- and a C-Side, each offering several extra puzzles featuring the mechanics present throughout the chapter, but with enhanced difficulty. The B-Side can be unlocked by getting a hold of the cassettes present throughout the level; to unlock the C-Sides, you'll need to pass all of the B-Sides first. It's safe to say that around C-Side is when I started to wonder if maybe I should just put the controller down.

But I couldn't, and that's what's so charming about Celeste. Despite 2,492 deaths, I continued to want to climb. I wanted to succeed, and I tried for one more death and one more after that, with the promise of eventually reigning triumphant over the mountain. It doesn't matter that you die hundreds or thousands of times, you'll want to pick up the controller again and try that one jump again because any of these could be the last one.

Celeste is a phenomenal precision platformer that has a story very centred around mental health and healing. The gorgeous graphics, fantastic music, and delightful platforming will have you trying just once more after every death, no matter how many you've racked up. If you like puzzle platformers, Celeste is a no-brainer. If you don't, Celeste just might change your mind about that.