Celeste (Game Review)

Celeste is a platformer where you control Madeline as she tries to climb up Celeste Mountain. This game is quite difficult. The first couple of chapters didn't bother me too much, but I was struggling by chapter 4. Any damage Madeline takes immediately kills her which is part of the difficulty. She's also limited in her abilities. She can run and jump, and she can grab walls for a limited amount of time. She will lose stamina and let go if she is holding onto a wall for too long. She can also dash, but only once. This is what you have to use to get past enemies and obstacles.

Difficulty aside, this is a great game featuring a girl who has anxiety and depression. One of the best aspects of Celeste is seeing Madeline having a panic attack, and then the player has to take steps to calm her down. This is handled so well and I loved seeing those moments. We see characters Madeline meets who help her cope with internal struggles too. That being said, this game actually ended up giving me a bit of anxiety. I wish there was some power up to give Madeline the ability to take more damage. The one-hit kills coupled with enemies chasing you while you have to dodge spikes or other hazardous environmental elements was stressful. There is an assist mode where you can turn on features like infinite dashes or invulnerability. Honestly, I would have enjoyed this game much less if assist mode didn't exist. I liked playing this game, and I loved the story, but I didn't like getting stressed out trying to see the story.

Fun, but difficult game. Turn on assist mode if you're struggling.

4 howls