Celeste
- January 26, 2018
- Heidy Motta
- 29h median play time
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Get on PS Store"Celeste" is a narrative-driven platformer where players help Madeline climb Celeste Mountain, facing her inner demons and over 700 challenging screens. The game features simple yet expressive controls, with brutal B-side chapters and a touching story of self-discovery. It boasts stunning original music and offers over two hours of live piano and synth beats.
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Reviews
- story22,622 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The story of *Celeste* is widely praised for its heartfelt exploration of themes such as anxiety, depression, and self-acceptance, resonating deeply with players. Many reviewers highlight how the narrative is intricately woven into the gameplay, enhancing the emotional impact of the platforming challenges. While some find the story simple or predictable, it is generally regarded as a touching and relatable journey that complements the game's mechanics and visuals beautifully.
“Celeste is an incredibly rewarding experience, balancing challenging platforming with a meaningful story of self-discovery.”
“The story about anxiety is told perfectly through the gameplay and music.”
“The story, the music, the visuals, and of course the gameplay in particular is all superb.”
“Absolute dogshit of a repetitive and tedious experience with an amateur story that a kid could write in 5th grade.”
“This is like presenting a story in a movie without explaining anything, and the entire audience is lost.”
“Madeline is a depressed, anxious girl, alright, but the story seems to be there just for the sake of it.”
- music15,604 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The music in *Celeste*, composed by Lena Raine, is widely praised for its beauty and emotional depth, perfectly complementing the game's narrative and gameplay. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to enhance the atmosphere of each level, with tracks that range from calming to intense, reflecting the protagonist's journey and struggles. Many players find themselves listening to the soundtrack outside of the game, underscoring its impact and memorability.
“The music is beautiful and perfectly complements the visual experience.”
“The soundtrack, composed by Lena Raine, is a masterpiece.”
“The music throughout all the levels, b and c sides, and especially farewell, is absolutely gorgeous, and is the main reason I didn't throw my controller out the window while playing this game.”
“The only downside, apart from the insane difficulty of this game, especially in the DLC and the B&C-side level, is the fact that the music gets kinda annoying and I'd much rather listen to Spotify towards the end of the game.”
“The music felt jarring at many times, and I had it turned down to 1 for most of my playthrough.”
“The music is very monotonous and makes you want to sleep.”
- gameplay15,282 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The gameplay of *Celeste* is widely praised for its tight controls, challenging yet fair mechanics, and innovative level design that introduces new gameplay elements in each chapter. Players appreciate the fluidity and responsiveness of the movement, which allows for a satisfying experience as they navigate through increasingly complex obstacles. The game effectively intertwines its emotional narrative with gameplay, making each victory feel rewarding and meaningful, while also offering a variety of challenges and collectibles that enhance replayability.
“The mechanics, hitboxes, and timings feel very natural and come to the player like second nature.”
“Not only is it a masterful platformer with brilliant music, it has the most satisfying gameplay and the most insane challenges.”
“The gameplay is very tight and difficult but resets are fast, so you get to strive for perfection.”
“The gameplay is difficult if you want to complete everything without assist mode, but, as you progress through it, you will realize your 'normal gameplay' is actually the same as what you used to consider 'absurdly hard' in other levels.”
“The game is designed to help players master the mechanics from the very beginning, even when you don’t come to realize it’s happening, due to its subtlety.”
“The wind mechanic when it's just slowing you down made it unfun to move; it felt like moving through sludge.”
- graphics5,828 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The graphics of *Celeste* are widely praised for their charming pixel art style, which effectively complements the game's emotional narrative and gameplay mechanics. Reviewers highlight the vibrant colors, detailed environments, and smooth animations that create an immersive atmosphere, making the game visually appealing despite its retro aesthetic. The combination of beautiful visuals and an outstanding soundtrack enhances the overall experience, contributing to its status as a standout title in the platforming genre.
“The blend of graphics and colors creates the perfect atmosphere for the story.”
“The level design, the soundtrack, the art style, everything is with such a level of detail that the love and passion of the developers for video games is noticeable.”
“The graphics are very colorful and cartoonish pixel art that fit the story incredibly well.”
“The graphics are standard 8-bit stuff, with low resolution making the game look objectively bad.”
“The art style is ugly, the music irritating, the control scheme bad and frustrating, and the level design thoughtless and unfun as if the only priority is to make it 'hard' by being intolerant of tiny errors and offering no way to recover.”
“The graphics just have no sense of atmosphere.”
- emotional3,390 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "Celeste" is widely praised for its heartfelt narrative that explores themes of anxiety, depression, and self-discovery. Players often describe the story as touching and relatable, with many expressing that it resonated deeply with their personal experiences, leading to moments of genuine emotional reflection and even tears. The combination of challenging gameplay, beautiful visuals, and a stunning soundtrack enhances the emotional journey, making it a memorable and impactful experience for many.
“The story of madeline’s climb up celeste mountain is not just a physical journey but an emotional and personal one, exploring themes of self-discovery, mental health, and perseverance.”
“Celeste is a heartwarming, cute and very touching platformer for hardcore masochists gamers.”
“The story is touching and one of few that I feel like I will actually be a better person for experiencing.”
- atmosphere812 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in *Celeste* is widely praised for its captivating blend of beautiful pixel art, immersive sound design, and a poignant soundtrack that enhances the emotional depth of the game. Players appreciate how the music complements the gameplay and narrative, creating a unique and engaging experience that balances challenge with a comforting ambiance. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as heartwarming, enchanting, and deeply resonant, making it a standout feature that elevates the entire gaming experience.
“The blend of graphics and colors creates the perfect atmosphere for the story.”
“Celeste has a beautiful atmosphere with the awesome art, music, and story perfectly in sync with each other throughout the game.”
“The atmosphere, the music, and the gameplay of the chapter all work together to form a wonderful chapter.”
“Don't like the atmosphere, too grim; also, visuals, art looks very ugly to me personally, gameplay is mid.”
“The greatest and most immediate issue with the game, however, is how void it really is of atmosphere.”
“But the graphics just have no sense of atmosphere.”
- replayability740 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The game boasts exceptional replayability, with numerous collectibles, challenging b-sides and c-sides, and a vibrant modding community that enhances the experience. Players appreciate the opportunity to refine their skills, explore hidden content, and engage in speedrunning, making it a title that can be enjoyed repeatedly. While some players note a finite amount of content, the overall consensus is that the replay value is immense, ensuring that players can find new challenges and experiences long after completing the main story.
“The game’s “b-sides” and “c-sides” provide additional layers of difficulty and replayability for those seeking an extra challenge.”
“Celeste features a phenomenal soundtrack, an insane amount of levels, a ton of replayability, and a super relatable story that uses the struggle of climbing a mountain to tackle the difficult topic of mental illness.”
“This dedicated community of fans and creators pushes the boundaries of the game far beyond what the original developers could have envisioned, adding a whole new layer of depth and replayability to an already phenomenal game.”
“The game also has immense replay value due to the hidden collectibles in every level, such as the b-sides, which feel like a natural extension of the game.”
“Talking about the levels, I'm sad that the game has a lot of replayability, but only 8 hours of playthrough.”
“The game itself is short but has a ton of replayability as the b-tapes are hilariously hard, and that's with me having over 1k deaths through my first playthrough of the regular game.”
- humor614 mentions
- 99 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with many players highlighting its ability to elicit genuine laughter through witty dialogue, quirky character interactions, and amusing scenarios. The comedic elements are often intertwined with deeper themes, making the humor both relatable and impactful, while characters like Theo provide comic relief amidst the game's challenges. Overall, the humor enhances the experience, making it a memorable and enjoyable platformer.
“The laughing in particular is almost a highlight of the game for me, as it's rare for games to get an out-loud laugh from me, but that made me genuinely 'lol.'”
“The story was funny, heartwarming and especially relatable for me as a person with anxiety who also loves climbing; I teared up a bit at the summit of Celeste.”
“Madeline is sassy, hilarious, and real character.”
“However, the story is poorly written, annoying, unfunny and takes complex emotions/events and oversimplifies them, which could work if the story was more vague or had better characters, but in the end they completely fail.”
- grinding424 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 64 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, especially in later levels and during side content. While some appreciate the challenge and rewarding nature of the gameplay, others feel that the need for extensive grinding can lead to frustration and burnout. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable but can become overly grindy, particularly for those aiming for 100% completion.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Unlike a lot of games, getting 100% has no grinding whatsoever.”
“A bit grindy sometimes.”
“I want to give it a thumbs up but it's just way too tedious for a mere human like me.”
“The levels aren't interesting: they feel tedious rather than entertaining and after you finish one you're just happy that it's over.”
“Overall I found the experience much more tedious than enjoyable.”
- character development188 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is widely praised for its depth and relatability, particularly through the protagonist Madeline's journey of self-acceptance and overcoming personal challenges. Players appreciate the well-crafted dialogue and emotional resonance, which enhance the overall narrative experience. The character designs are also noted for their charm and effectiveness in conveying the story's themes, making the character development a standout aspect of the game.
“Through the dialogue and character development, players watch Madeline grow as she learns to accept her imperfections and face her fears head-on.”
“The themes throughout the game and character interactions are touching, with Madeline's character development being phenomenally relatable and touching on a deep level.”
“With a compelling story, amazing character development, breathtaking level design, beautiful music, and tight controls, it is a true masterpiece.”
“Style and the character designs were unappealing.”
“I'll say the story isn't something extraordinary compared to other games similar to this; character designs are neat and may make you feel slightly attached to them, but overall you most likely will remember the parkour/platform challenge of this game rather than the story.”
“It doesn't manifest in the game except character design.”
- optimization82 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
Overall, "Celeste" is praised for its strong optimization, running smoothly even on low-end hardware and providing a satisfying experience for players. However, some users reported performance issues, particularly with controller support and RAM consumption, indicating that there is still room for improvement. Despite these concerns, many players found the game to be well-optimized for its visual style and gameplay mechanics, contributing to a generally positive reception regarding performance.
“Celeste is a peak performance in platforming!”
“The game is extremely well optimized for how good it looks; my laptop is quite old and still runs the game at a high framerate while looking stunning.”
“Nearly every screen is optimized so that when you die, you either feel 'I died too quick, I can do better!' or 'I was so close, let's do it again!'”
“Played on controller, but felt as though some sections were optimized for keyboard, which was frustrating.”
“Another issue I found was performance; I don't know what was happening in the background, but this game, while running, utterly consumed my RAM.”
“What a shittily optimized game.”
- stability58 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 62 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally praised, with many players reporting solid performance and minimal bugs. However, some users have encountered occasional glitches, particularly during specific cutscenes or minigames, and a few have experienced significant issues like crashes or freezing. Despite these concerns, the majority of players find the game to be well-polished and enjoyable, with glitches often seen as part of the fun rather than major hindrances.
“The game also runs great and I didn't encounter any bugs or other issues.”
“Everything is very polished, no glitches, and your success rate is entirely determined by your skill.”
“Runs great, best running game I own and I mostly play 2D games.”
“The game is probably great on other platforms... but on Steam, this game is a buggy mess.”
“The game won't launch at all; it just freezes my computer and I need to reset.”
“Update (bug): just finished the game and tried to start chapter 8. For some reason, after you talk to the old lady again, the character freezes and there's nothing else to do but to restart the chapter.”
- monetization28 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 36 % negative mentions
Celeste is praised for its generous monetization model, featuring no intrusive microtransactions or paywalled content, allowing players to fully engage with the game without financial barriers. This approach contrasts sharply with many contemporary games that rely on aggressive monetization tactics, making Celeste a standout example of creativity and respect for player investment. Overall, players appreciate the absence of monetization gimmicks, focusing instead on the game's tight gameplay and heartfelt storytelling.
“It’s a breathtaking journey that combines tight gameplay, heartfelt storytelling, and a refreshing approach to content and monetization.”
“Controls feel super clunky, especially no mouse support in the menu; it feels like a cheap PC port made as a cash grab.”
“No filler, no microtransactions, no painful gimmicks, no spotty controls, and doesn't overstay its welcome.”
“From the get-go, this game embraces a refreshing ethos: no intrusive monetization schemes, no DLCs locked behind paywalls, just pure content that respects the player’s investment of time and emotion.”
