Celeste: A videogame about overcoming challenges and finding your inner strength

After a hectic day at work, my favorite way to unwind is to get lost in the relaxing, fun, and adventurous world of videogames. They help me forget, if only temporarily, about my problems in the real world. They provide a peaceful sense of escape for me. This feeling of safety and tranquility is exactly what I was expecting when I purchased Celeste from Steam. But, with 2,029 deaths in the eleven hours it took me to complete the main story line, these feelings never came.
Celeste is a 2D platformer created by Matt Thorson and Noel Berry. It was released on January 25th, 2018. This game was the first game I purchased in 2018, and I was in no way disappointed. It was a very strong way to start my year in gaming. Though it was extremely difficult, the game was very fun to play. You play as a young girl named Madeline who seeks to climb the legendary Celeste mountain. Without giving much away, you are confronted by an entity that attempts to keep you from scaling the mountain. As the game goes on you discover that Madeline suffers from depression and climbing the mountain is her attempt to overcome the feelings that plague her. Overall the game stresses the point that depression can be conquered through sheer will and inner strength. As one of the millions of the people in the world who suffer from depression, I would like to believe that is possible.

The other characters that you encounter in the game all have a purpose on the mountain similar to Madeline’s. They are there for either some form of self discovery or to overcome a hardship they faced. You learn a little about each character, but you learn the most about a man named Theo. You encounter him often throughout the various sections of the mountain. Even though Theo is who you spend the most time with, I found each character interesting and memorable. My favorite being the old woman who lives on the mountain. She is the only character who is on the mountain for her own enjoyment. She says she stays there because it “keeps her sharp” although she never really goes into why she traveled there in the first place.

I enjoyed the artwork in the game. When you are talking with another character, the textbox has a more detailed yet cartoonish drawing of the sprites you encounter in the game. The rest of the game looks like a typical 8-bit style platformer.

The game does offer some replayability; There is a whole section after the credits that you can’t unlock unless you find enough secrets or collect enough of the strawberries that are strewn about the game. I did not collect enough to access this area, but I might go back and do a completionist run when I am more emotionally prepared to die another 2,000 times.

Overall I really enjoyed the game. The story was great, the characters are memorable, and the gameplay was difficult but fun. I would definitely recommend picking it up. It is currently going for $20 on Steam, which makes it a good grab for gamers on a budget.

Thanks for reading, everyone! If you have any games you want me to review leave them in the comments. Remember to upvote and follow for more game reviews!