Pure brilliance.

I don't think I will ever play a game that combines story, music, and game play so perfectly as Celeste does.

Lena Raine (who also created my favorite tracks from Deltarune and Minecraft), delivers with an OST with no misses that not only fits each section of the game but tracks will change during sections of the level to match the changing atmosphere with new instruments and sounds being added to the tunes.

Story wise, It may be a bit segmented but the progression of Madeline's journey is just amazing to watch and due to the excellence in music and game play you feel her emotions all the way through from the stress of the mirror temple to thrill of confronting our shadow counterpart.

Lastly game play. Yes, Celeste is a hard game with even harder side content, but due to the multitude of checkpoints between individual screens I would say only 1% of 'screens' in Celeste got the the point of feeling overtly punishing. Ignoring difficulty, the simple controls yet new gimmicks each level brings make Madeline fun to control in a plethora of uniquely designed platforming challenges.

however, no game is perfect and Celeste is no exception. Firstly, keyboard controls are unplayable, If using a controller wasn't so much smoother this would be an immediate deal breaker. Second, Four chapters in a row all end with you being chased/attacked by something (If including the random snowballs in Chapter 4) and each successive chase scene is less satisfying with the last; at least this culminates to one of the best sequences within chapter 6. Third, the game kinda hides stuff from you, the options hides an elusive crouch dash option never taught in game and you have to reopen the game to unlock the game's assist mode if you want a more casual time.

Besides these three issues (two of which can avoided with pretext, and the other is preference), this game is genuine blast. Well made and carefully crafted to be a challenging but extremely rewarding experience.

Also, beyond the main story is loads of post-game content featuring new music, story, and levels that turn up the challenge which I can only guess will match the excellence that this game has astounded me with before.

Pure brilliance. I don't think I will ever play a game that combines story, music, and game play so perfectly as Celeste does. Lena Raine (who also created my favorite tracks from Deltarune and Minecraft), delivers with an OST with no misses that not only fits each section of the game but tracks will change during sections of the level to match the changing atmosphere with new instruments and sounds being added to the tunes. Story wise, It may be a bit segmented but the progression of Madeline's journey is just amazing to watch and due to the excellence in music and game play you feel her emotions all the way through from the stress of the mirror temple to thrill of confronting our shadow counterpart. Lastly game play. Yes, Celeste is a hard game with even harder side content, but due to the multitude of checkpoints between individual screens I would say only 1% of 'screens' in Celeste got the the point of feeling overtly punishing. Ignoring difficulty, the simple controls yet new gimmicks each level brings make Madeline fun to control in a plethora of uniquely designed platforming challenges. however, no game is perfect and Celeste is no exception. Firstly, keyboard controls are unplayable, If using a controller wasn't so much smoother this would be an immediate deal breaker. Second, Four chapters in a row all end with you being chased/attacked by something (If including the random snowballs in Chapter 4) and each successive chase scene is less satisfying with the last; at least this culminates to one of the best sequences within chapter 6. Third, the game kinda hides stuff from you, the options hides an elusive crouch dash option never taught in game and you have to reopen the game to unlock the game's assist mode if you want a more casual time. Besides these three issues (two of which can avoided with pretext, and the other is preference), this game is genuine blast. Well made and carefully crafted to be a challenging but extremely rewarding experience. Also, beyond the main story is loads of post-game content featuring new music, story, and levels that turn up the challenge which I can only guess will match the excellence that this game has astounded me with before.