Celeste (2018)
As video games mature as a medium, classification is made increasingly complex and blurry. I’m not one to debate semantics as that often distracts from value-driven dialogue, so I won’t. Instead, I’ll say with confidence that Celeste is a pure platformer. It is hand-crafted with precise focus, both on mechanics and narrative. It does everything right within the scope of that focus and should be praised for it. Don’t expect anything else.
Celeste is the name of a mountain. A mountain that a woman named Madeline is determined to climb. Reaching the peak would be some feat, but she will need more than her elite technique (so to speak) to overcome the challenges ahead. Celeste is a strange place that makes you face a part of yourself “you ain’t ready to see”. Fortunately, Madeline meets a few folks on the trail that make the journey less lonely.
As the player, you control Madeline and her mad hops. She can jump, dash, and climb around obstacles one screen (aka stage) at a time. This simple move set is an accessible foundation that is explored with ridiculous depth. Even the least experienced platformer can reach the end of her story, driven by Madeline’s determination. Levels will get tough, but everyone is encouraged to reach the summit.
Death is inevitable and will come often, but that’s okay because Celeste fully understands how it wants to challenge players. It is not looking for you to cautiously navigate the space while worrying about how many lives you have left. Instead, it removes severe punishment and ramps up the difficulty of any given stage. If you fail, your death count goes up by 1 and you are put in the ideal position to try the stage again.
Your ultimate death total is bearable to endure because this game is empowering, polished, and thoroughly engaging. The only times you aren’t jumping around are during occasional conversations, which effectively tell a touching story that comes to life with beautiful art direction and music. Each chapter highlights a section of the mountain and they are each truly novel. I was impressed with the ongoing variety of interactivity in intriguing new spaces, all building on the mechanical foundation established in the first moments.
Be wary traveler, for Celeste has a dark side. Those needing something harder can attempt the relentlessly difficult levels beyond the core (pun intended) package. The main storyline offers an optional and casual challenge to grab strawberries, in hidden or hard to reach places, as you play. Another collectible will unlock that level’s B-side, a remixed version that cuts out the strawberries so you can focus on the brutal reimagining. Expect hundreds of deaths. Then there are C-sides…
Celeste is a pure platformer, therefore it inevitably gets hard as fuck
Platforming could be plainly defined as “movement”, an essential aspect of so many games, which makes it tough to distinguish those that fit squarely in the platforming genre. Games like Braid and Inside focus on puzzle-solving while others, like Cuphead and Contra, keep you gunning while running. Additional mechanics instantly create more depth of play, so it is not surprising that even a quintessential platformer like Mario has a fire flower to comfortably dispatch enemies. Celeste stands out for its clear mission: get to the other side.
Celeste is exemplary of pure platforming, alongside icons like Super Meat Boy and N+. The similarity between those three does not end there as they are all fucking hard to beat. They are designed to be platformers and nothing else, so the only way to create depth is to push the player to their limits. I take the bait and tell myself I need to get good if I want to really beat it.
But… uh… what does it mean to “really beat it”? Celeste gives you a story for 7 Chapters (9 for a second ending) before the incentives turn into stamps on a passport. Don’t get me wrong, there is a sense of pride in having those stamps. Pure platformers know that feeling, cut away the fluff, and enable you to try as much as needed. I am not one to invest my time into this type of game, but Celeste made me appreciate the time I do invest a lot more.
I need to pause for a moment and give credit where it is due to the developers, who put well-documented effort into making Celeste as good as it is. They know exactly what makes platformers tick, so they made one, then did us the kindness of adding the rest of this wonderful package. They also support the speedrunning community. Could they get any better?
All that being said, Celeste is right outside my top 50. It’s so easy to continually compliment, but nothing about it especially resonated with me. I liked the story and it was fun to play. I won’t forget Madeline, hopefully never Badeline (1), but probably will forget Theo and Mr. Oshiro. Every screen I passed through was so polished that it distracted me from stepping back to take it all in.
I see myself eventually returning to the mountain to conquer Chapter 9 and the cassette levels. I would love to play on an arcade cabinet for greater dash control and because it just feels right with this game’s aesthetic. No time now, though, my backlog awaits.
COMPLETED: 10/17/2020
PLAYED ON: PC w/ PS4 controller
- Like Madeline, but Bad. I realize now that I didn’t cover the story at all. I’ll just say I didn’t want to spoil anything. Badeline represents a certain side of Madeline and is one metaphor the game uses for mental health, which is the primary theme. I respected the way they approached the topic and wish more developers would do the same.
