Celeste

Celeste presents a great challenge: complete platforming levels with perfected skill and pinpoint accuracy. And it mixes this with a story that is a perfect marriage for the playability of the game: get to the top of a mountain. However, the best part of the game is that the mountain is constantly a metaphor of different fears that occupy the mind of the player, and beating the game gives a hint for how to overcome these fears beyond the on-screen experience.

Celeste transcends its status as a 2D-platforming game. It will challenge you at every step, while always checking in to offer you support. Celeste is a beautifully human experience that reminds us that games are capable of showing genuine emotion and conveying the beauty of our imperfections. Buy and play this game as soon as you are able.

Incredibly thoughtful and mechanically near-perfect, Celeste marries impeccable game design with a touching and relatable story in a way I've never experienced before. It's simultaneously an excellent platformer and an engaging meditation on the perils and methods of tackling depression and anxiety, and the fact that those two aspects are so naturally integrated is amazing.

Celeste is a true masterpiece of the genre and an excellent example of what a perfect level design is. Exquisite gameplay and a beautiful story make this game one of the best surprises of the modern era.

A sensational platformer with an important story at its heart. Celeste is engaging, rewarding, and reminds us that the reward is worth the hard journey.

Celeste is an exemplary amalgamation of style, mechanics and character. A devilishly brilliant action platformer with enough skill required to excite genre purists and the speed running community, while at the same time featuring a breakdown of gameplay elements to customize and cater for all audiences. While the game mechanically is great, if familiar, the art style and narrative are truly special, showing both a visual and emotional range and depth that will resonate and inspire. Celeste is the absolute peak of personal exploration and discovery on Nintendo Switch.

Climbing this mountain might be an arduous task, but the experience is gleefully rewarding and beautiful.

Celeste is a surprise masterpiece. Its 2D platforming is some of the best and toughest since Super Meat Boy, with levels that are as challenging to figure out as they are satisfying to complete.

Celeste is a clever 2D Platformer that combines many ideas from various Platformers into one remarkable work of art.

Celeste shows other platformgames how its done. The game combines difficult but honest platform action with an emotional story.

It tells a surprisingly deep and emotional story featuring a relatable main character and it all blends uniquely together to make one of the finest gaming experience of the year. Celeste might not look it but, just like the mountain Madeline is so determined to conquer, it towers above the rest quite easily.

Celeste is probably the greatest surprise in 2018 so far. Its marvelous platforming, great mechanics, lovely visuals and lovely soundtrack simply make this a must have for anyone who loves 2D platformers.

A story about overcoming grief and accepting ourselves under the guise of an impeccable platformer. Celeste is the kind of game that no one, not even those who despise jumping games, should miss.

An excellent platformer that is as interesting as well done. There's a lot to love here, with very few problems on it.

Celeste blends old gameplay ideas with progressive story telling and the results are nothing short of amazing.

You might find a new speedrunning challenge, a new inspiration or a kindred spirit on your way to the top of Celeste, and I hope you'll join me there. [Issue #33 – May/June 2018, p. 22]

An excellent platformer that never fails to surprise. [Issue#198, p.74]

Celeste is a challenging, charming and near-to-perfection game that doesn't only play well, but also tells a poignant story and merges this with all the best qualities you can expect from a platformer.

Celeste not only joins a long list of phenomenal platforming royalty, but it stands as a mighty pillar among the very best of them.

Celeste is an amazing platformer with tight gameplay, a good storyline and many many challenging levels. Celeste offers many different ways of getting to understand the extreme difficulty levels.

Looking at my death count at the end of the game, it was a little shocking to see that I’d died that many times. But Celeste constantly reassures the player that it’s not something to be ashamed of. Every death is a lesson learned, and with every lesson comes improvement. As long as you don’t give up, there’s always a path to success. Even if you have to fail 2,649 times to see it.

What separates Celeste, even at its hardest, from masochistic games like The End Is Nigh is that it's not bleak or unyielding.

Celeste is one of the best 2D platformers in recent years. Challenging, beautiful and full of content. Prepare to die.

Celeste is an amazing game in every aspect. This hardcore platformer combines solid gameplay, a strong psychological plot, staged by a brilliant pixel art direction and a fantastic soundtrack. The game is so generous and challenging, but still manages to gives newcomers a chance, even though you might miss the entire point by skipping some parts with the assist mode. You have every reason to play Celeste. Period.

I really don’t have a lot of bad things to say about Celeste by Matt Makes Games. The game tackles difficult topics with amazing grace that we usually don’t see in this media. The game itself is extremely challenging, fun and filled with a great sense of accomplishment.

It's a testament to convincing writing and ingenious design that after playing Celeste I felt like I'd been on the same journey as Madeline. Her struggle is one made easy to empathize with, her low points painful to watch, and her high notes exhilarating to experience. Her tale is delicately told and beautifully illustrated, confidently coalescing with the satisfying, empowering game it lies within. Not bad for a game about climbing a mountain.

What really makes the game shine in-between all the chaotic but elegant ways to hop across the game's rooms, is the surprising heart at the center of it all.

I did not get what I initially expected out of Celeste, but I got something much more fulfilling and rewarding. While I do have a few complaints when it comes to the use of strawberries and Assist Mode, gameplay is fluid, tight, and satisfying. It is pretty easy to learn, but challenging to master, and the level design remains fair no matter how wacky the situations get throughout the whole game.

Celeste is an excellent platform game with excellent level design, a lovable cast and an intriguing atmosphere.

With platforming tough enough to challenge even the most seasoned player, accessibility options making it approachable, and a narrative that delivers on multiple levels, Celeste is a winner from any angle. Don’t be afraid to make this climb – the view from the top is worth it.

A brave product, well packaged and certainly worthy of your time.

Matt Thorson succeeds once again in crafting a tight, beautiful retro experience.

Celeste is a great 2D platform, mountain and charismatic, with good controls and a truly excellent level design. The storytelling isn't as much brilliant: the story deals with strong topics, often with naivety. Anyway, the last chapter is wonderful, and the overall adventure lovely.

As most indie-keen gamers already know, Celeste is a phenomenal 2D platformer. Almost everything about it comes together to make a satisfying and challenging game that'll thoroughly put your skills to the test.