Celeste is a 2018 platform game, written and directed by Matt Thorson, namesake of his developing studio Matt Makes Games. It has been released for several platforms and I played the release for Nintendo Switch.
Celeste is a story about a young woman named Madeline who is trying to climb the mountain Celeste(*) of the title. It is a difficult climb, but she is determined to succeed. She is however haunted by mental health problems, with depression, anxiety and panic attacks. It turns out that Celeste mountain has mysterious supernatural powers. It makes her negative emotions manifest in "Part of Madeline" (unofficially called Badeline), a dark reflection of her which has its own body. This entity tries to keep Madeline from climbing the mountain. Thus in order to reach the summit, Madeline must face her own emotions.
* (Mount Celeste is incidentally the name of a real mountain in Canada (which is the homeland of the developers), but I doubt it is anything like the supernatural mountain portrayed in the game.)
Celeste is an oldfashioned 2d platformer. The player controls Madeline who can walk, jump, dash and climb walls. She can dash in mid-air in eight directions, but only once before she must recharge her energy by standing on a flat surface or through certains items. Her ability to hold to and climb walls is limited by her stamina, which also must be refilled in the same way.
will kill you instantly. Screenshot from the game's official site.
These controls are simple, but the game is very difficult. This is the kind of game that demands precision movements and where nearly every mistake will kill your character. Each level in this game is full of potential for Madeline's death, such as bottomless pits and spikes. The game has a helpful counter that keeps tracks of your deaths. When I finished the game, mine was at 4895 deaths. That says a lot, really.
The game however has a very friendly attitude about its difficulty. It is very easy to make mistakes, but the game doesn't punish mistakes that severely. Each level in this game is divided into fairly short sections. And when you die in the game, you immediately start over within seconds at the start of the section. This makes dying in this game a very minor setback. It feels like a natural part of learning to play the game. Before you start a certain level, you even get a message in text saying "Be proud of your death count! The more you die, the more you're learning. Keep going". It is a very encouraging and uplifting attitude.
By dividing the levels in sections, most of which are rather short, the game makes each challenge feels manageable. The player can save and quit the game at any point and then start again at the beginning of the section where they left off.
Most of the most difficult parts of this game are optional. There are strawberries you can collect in each level and getting those are usually the hardest parts. But the game explicitly tells you that they are optional, collecting them "will only impress your friends". And the truly hard levels are bonus levels, called "B-sides", which don't affect the story.
There is even an "Assist mode", which tweaks the game to make it much easier. I didn't use it, but the game doesn't shame the player for using it either, which is very commendable.
The reason I didn't use that mode was because I found the platforming challenges in this game very compelling. They are not just about reflexes and precision, but also challenge your brain. Each level section in this game feels like a puzzle, built around Madeline's limited stamina. You have to figure out a way to get through the section without running out stamina and dying. This makes for very cerebral gameplay for a platformer, which I really liked.
And this is the rare platformer that has a well-written story with emotional power. The story is about dealing with negative emotions and mental illness. Climbing the mountain is a metaphor for the struggles of life. And it makes it's metaphors very explicit. Madeline's negative emotions literally manifest as a separate entity that tries to keep her from climbing the mountain. That part of her is motivated by fear that Madeline will fail; she thinks it is best to play it safe and return home.
But the game refreshingly doesn't traffic in any simplistic notions about overcoming mental illness. Instead, it is about accepting them as part of yourself. Your negative emotions such as anxiety will always be there, you can't get rid of them, so the only way to cope is to accept them. It is the only way to gain some control over these emotions. This game is of course not the first time I've been given this advice, but it is welcome nevertheless.
This is portrayed in the story very well. Madeline first tries to run away from Badeline (her negative emotions) and tries to get rid of her, but that proves to be impossible. Eventually Madeline comes to accept that part of herself. This makes her more powerful in game. She is now able to dash twice in mid-air. The story effects the gameplay, which is sadly rare in video games, but this is an welcome exception.
The difficulty of the game strengthens the central idea climbing the mountain as a metaphor for the challenges of life. The aforementioned amiable attitude the game has towards the player is part of the message. The game presents you with difficult challenges, but it has a forgiving attitude towards mistakes. It is essentially saying that life is hard, but it is Ok to make mistakes.
In addition to this gameplay and story, there is the graphics and music, which are both wonderful. The retro-graphics are gorgeous, the result of great art design. And the music by electronic composer Lena Raine is really powerful.
Celeste is a masterpiece of a game, in which every element from music to gameplay come together to tell an emotionally moving story with an important message.
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