Celeste

 Switch
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1089 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 924 out of 1089
  2. Mixed: 79 out of 1089
  3. Negative: 86 out of 1089
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  1. Graymann
    Aug 19, 2020
    7
    I liked this game until chapter 9. I hate chapter 9. I almost sh** my pants when those weird monsters came up. this is a horror game. I cried from how scary it is, and that is not an exaggeration.
  2. Tanky86
    Apr 19, 2022
    7
    its a great platformer, but way too hard for me. this game ain’t for me and i can understand that
  3. thryce3
    May 19, 2020
    6
    The gameplay is fun and challenging. The story is deeply affecting and the metaphor of climbing the mountain is at times brilliant. I would be a 9 out of 10 but...... After a long dialogue section the difficulty and frustration spikes through the roof! It is a hard game filled with trial by death, but you respawn quickly on the same screen so it actually works. Honestly, I didn't mindThe gameplay is fun and challenging. The story is deeply affecting and the metaphor of climbing the mountain is at times brilliant. I would be a 9 out of 10 but...... After a long dialogue section the difficulty and frustration spikes through the roof! It is a hard game filled with trial by death, but you respawn quickly on the same screen so it actually works. Honestly, I didn't mind the first 995 times i died (actual number- not an exaggeration). Then the climax begins and each screen has multiple sections that need to be done perfectly or you die and do them all again. It goes from a challenge to chore very quickly. I died an additional 1400+ times on the final 2 sections. It's a real shame because the story is strongest at that point. I get why they made it so hard, but it totally breaks the engagement and nearly spoiled the entire game.
    I still recommend it to anyone who wants a challenging game. I'm sure all these perfect 10's were from players who died way less than i did. Just know what you're getting into.    … Expand
  4. epicboyblue
    Jan 18, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Celeste is a good game. The problem with this game is the movement. Sometimes I would want to dash in a up/down/left/right direction, but the game would give me a diagonal dash causing me to die from the environmental hazards. The narrative is lackluster. There's no subtlety with the "theme" of the game. This a bare bones video game. The movement does work well with the narrative, but there isn't any actual combat. It is just movement in the form of running. It works decently. It does kind of play into the narrative, but not well enough to the extent of it being a phenomenal game. The narrative itself is riddled with pacing issues, There's very little, then you get a multiple choice lore dump at some point. The final level is oddly difficult compared to the rest of the game because it does seem difficult at one point, but the finale dials it up to the White Palace level in Hollow Knight. I get it's the finale, but it did feel like like the difficulty didn't match the rest of the game. This game is good, but it doesn't do anything I haven't seen other games do better. I tried using the pro controller, but the dash issues I mentioned earlier were still present. That's all I got. Oh, the mental issues narrative isn't really good. I get it works because Madeleine is running away. It just doesn't work. The feather mechanic didn't work as well I thought it would, then it didn't matter because the game took it away. It might help people, but this kind of narrative has already been explored, and this game doesn't add anything to the conversation that hasn't already been said and it doesn't try to say anything in a different way.… Expand
  5. deepspace
    Mar 9, 2018
    6
    The game’s fantastic soundtrack and awesome style aside, this is an exercise in frustration and sameness. If each screen was interesting and gave you a reason to battle on, I’d probably persevere, but this game’s dynamic is just too one-dimensional. Maybe less of the one-trick pony of doing the same thing on each screen for the next one. But yeah, beautiful game and great style- and theThe game’s fantastic soundtrack and awesome style aside, this is an exercise in frustration and sameness. If each screen was interesting and gave you a reason to battle on, I’d probably persevere, but this game’s dynamic is just too one-dimensional. Maybe less of the one-trick pony of doing the same thing on each screen for the next one. But yeah, beautiful game and great style- and the mood is fabulous.… Expand
  6. night4
    Mar 5, 2018
    7
    It's good, it really is. But in absolutely no world does it deserve the scores it's getting.

    Pros:

    -Sound/music
    -You don't have to wait long after dying
    -Nice pixel art

    Cons:
    -Parts get a bit frustrating
    -"Story" is lame
    -Price is too high
  7. capedavenger
    Oct 7, 2018
    5
    Somehow, I can't get into many of those hypetrain games...at all. It's well made, the graphics are great, controls solid, but...it's not for me. I'm not the type of guy who likes to stare at a screen trying to memorise button combinations, trying stuff over and over and over... I'm sure it's an enjoyable challenge for some, but not for me.
  8. Daisuk
    May 26, 2020
    7
    Solid platforming game, tight controls and lots of very challenging platforming puzzles to solve. I enjoyed it, but ultimately, I just don't think it was as special as a lot of people will have you believe. The story isn't anything to write about, and although the game looks and plays well, it's largely forgettable, in my opinion. Still definitely worth playing, it's just not AS special asSolid platforming game, tight controls and lots of very challenging platforming puzzles to solve. I enjoyed it, but ultimately, I just don't think it was as special as a lot of people will have you believe. The story isn't anything to write about, and although the game looks and plays well, it's largely forgettable, in my opinion. Still definitely worth playing, it's just not AS special as a lot of people say it is, in my opinion.… Expand
  9. sloomo
    Dec 10, 2022
    5
    Gameplay is average. Story is terrible and makes you want to stop playing it. Don’t spend more than five dollars if you want this.
  10. Zeriel
    Jun 14, 2018
    7
    I hate the word overrated but there's just no other way to describe this game. I keep hearing people calling it the best game on Switch! I mean it's a good game but It has been blown way out of proportion. Celeste is a hard as BALLS platformer, that's it. If you enjoy platformers but find they're too easy then you will enjoy this game. However, it can get really repetitive, (seriously I'veI hate the word overrated but there's just no other way to describe this game. I keep hearing people calling it the best game on Switch! I mean it's a good game but It has been blown way out of proportion. Celeste is a hard as BALLS platformer, that's it. If you enjoy platformers but find they're too easy then you will enjoy this game. However, it can get really repetitive, (seriously I've died like 500 times so far) but the game makes you keep trying out of frustration. The story is charming and the main character is likeable but there's not much else.

    Side note, the developer is a bit of an arrogant **** on the forums. He's an Anita Sarkeesian fan and likes to delete threads or anything that even mentions her. I don't let this affect my score of the game but he's definitely not a friend of gamers and I won't support his work anymore.    … Expand
  11. Bnois
    Mar 16, 2020
    5
    Compared to other great indies like cuphead, hollow knight, dead cells, gris etc., this game feels like another mobile 3$ game
  12. MediaFreak
    Feb 7, 2018
    7
    I'm a big fan of pure platformers, but I felt this particular game just tried a bit too much to be something special.

    The story mode was great playing it through took about 5-6 hours and I really loved it. But I wanted some replayability and for me this game doesn't really have that. I enjoyed going back to the first world to get collectibles I'd missed and doing the bside and any other    I'm a big fan of pure platformers, but I felt this particular game just tried a bit too much to be something special.

    The story mode was great playing it through took about 5-6 hours and I really loved it. But I wanted some replayability and for me this game doesn't really have that. I enjoyed going back to the first world to get collectibles I'd missed and doing the bside and any other bsides id stumbled on along the way, but alot of the worlds just arent fun to explore. I dont want to have to jump into every part of every wall on ever level, well also being chased by something that will kill me if there isnt a hidden area there. Too much of the games best content is hidden away and most will get bored trying to find it.

    Would have been a better game if you could just pick your level like super meat boy and if things werent hidden.    … Expand
  13. curzon_dax
    Oct 2, 2018
    7
    Run, jump, air-jump, reset, repeat. It's a good game for its genre but its genre it relatively overdone lately and it's repetitive. If you are in for a platformer of the basic style with some modern touches here and there go for it but don't expect anything revolutionary or original or varying.
  14. the80srobot
    Jun 25, 2018
    6
    A beautiful game, but the difficulty is a little over the top. I wish games like this would be smarter about difficulty: having a high skill ceiling is great, but you should not make your game inaccessible to people who are not hardcore gamers. I play games to relax, not to be frustrated - if I could refund the game, I would. This way I just won't buy the next one from this studio.
  15. mocochang
    Sep 6, 2020
    6
    As a platformer it's a fun game. The difficulty pretty fair, you die a bunch, but aside from a death count there isn't really any repercussions to dying other than having to try again from the beginning of that small area, so it's no big deal. Overall I was pleased with the difficulty level and had fun playing through this game, though it does get a bit boring at times.

    However, one of    As a platformer it's a fun game. The difficulty pretty fair, you die a bunch, but aside from a death count there isn't really any repercussions to dying other than having to try again from the beginning of that small area, so it's no big deal. Overall I was pleased with the difficulty level and had fun playing through this game, though it does get a bit boring at times.

    However, one of my issues with the game and the main reason I couldn't bring myself to give it a higher score is that I was not too impressed with the controllers. The mechanic of having to hold a button to hold on to the walls and manually move up and down (different than most platformers where you hold on to walls upon contact and slowly slide down) combined to a dash ability that didn't feel very precise (I found that the game was a little too sensitive in detecting dashes as a diagonal movement when you're actually trying to go straight) made me not love the flow of the movements in this game, and as a platformer that's a big deal. The movement mechanics were obviously a design choice, and I suppose it's purely going to depend of the opinion of the player, but, personally, while I wouldn't call it bad and I did get used to it fairly quickly, I also I didn't love it. The flow of the movements just didn't feel great for me.

    Another point that I didn't love was some of the visual design aspects of the levels. Sometimes things are not very visible or clear. For example, chapter 4 has some pink platforms in front of a pink background. I found myself more often than I would like to admit not noticing at first something that was right in front of my face and obviously made to be used (and I mean literally not seeing it at first). As this is not something I find myself experiencing on other games of the genre, I have to assume it's an issue I had with the design of this game in particular.

    And finally: the story. Not going to lie, I didn't like it. The dialogs, especially the ones with your "evil" self, are pretty cringy and felt pretty shallow. I understand what they were aiming for with the theme of overcoming depression and anxiety, and I have played other games that did a phenomenal job with this theme, but Celeste just wasn't one of them. Perhaps it was the characters and the dialogs, or perhaps it was that story felt out of place with the gameplay (probably both), but the story didn't really work for me and felt mostly cringy and something I wanted to skip.

    tl;dr: not one of my favorite platformers, and I probably won't be replaying it in the future, but I still had fun as a one time playthrough.    … Expand
  16. Tyrant719
    Nov 2, 2020
    7
    This has to be one of the most overrated games of recent memory. That’s not to say it’s not good; it is. But it’s not anywhere near what it’s fans want it to be. It’s made aggravating to distract you from the bare-minimum, basic nature of everything else. If you enjoy doing the same thing over and over just to be belittled by people online who pretend to have beaten the game in a tenth ofThis has to be one of the most overrated games of recent memory. That’s not to say it’s not good; it is. But it’s not anywhere near what it’s fans want it to be. It’s made aggravating to distract you from the bare-minimum, basic nature of everything else. If you enjoy doing the same thing over and over just to be belittled by people online who pretend to have beaten the game in a tenth of the time that they actually did, this game is for you!!… Expand
  17. theUglyCasan0va
    Jun 15, 2022
    5
    Very over hyped. Music is by far it's.high point as the game just...isn't very fun. No idea why I fell for the hype and wasted $5 knowing it wasn't my sort of thing. Have enough frustration without a game of see how many times you die adding to it. Don't take the plunge unless you know you like trying to do the same jump 500 times.
  18. Fortius
    May 22, 2022
    6
    I enjoyed it at the beginning but it became very samey over time. The storyline and characters were okay, though mostly forgettable. It's an alright game if you can pick it up for a couple bucks but it wasn't worth what I paid.
  19. bonsai
    Jun 9, 2022
    7
    This is a fun game, but in no way I see why it's so acclaimed as a masterpiece, it's a fun, short and somehow forgettable experience, all in all worth the time, but not the memory.
  20. jerkface910
    May 23, 2018
    6
    I was enjoying this challenging 2D platformer quite a bit, but the Joy-con controls just aren't up to the task. I've probably died twice as much just due to the controls, which is frustrating. If you have the Pro controller use that, or get it on PS4, but either way this game needs a D-pad!
  21. beewarrior
    Sep 21, 2019
    6
    Really overrated...

    I bought it on a 50% off sale because of the rating, but am disappointed! I mean, I get it, the music is really nice, the gameplay is okay, but there is no way this game is above 8... I got bored after a few hours, it's just a jumping simulator! I put +100 hours into Zelda BoTW and it has the same user rating as this game?! seriously guys? Honestly seems    Really overrated...

    I bought it on a 50% off sale because of the rating, but am disappointed!

    I mean, I get it, the music is really nice, the gameplay is okay, but there is no way this game is above 8...
    I got bored after a few hours, it's just a jumping simulator!

    I put +100 hours into Zelda BoTW and it has the same user rating as this game?! seriously guys?

    Honestly seems like 6/10 to me.    … Expand
  22. quanta
    Jul 15, 2018
    7
    It's a good game but rather overrated.

    Pros: Fun mechanics; good (but not great) level design; captivating, colorful visuals.
    Cons: Monotonous; shallow story (2nd grade level); some mechanics are tedious (e.g. when the wind blows against the character).
  23. VahNabooty
    Jul 29, 2018
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Celeste was very fun to play through but the story ended up being the worst part of the game. It starts out sort of interesting, playing as a character that has depression and anxiety, but the game ends up forgetting that and decides to have a bunch of fourth wall breaking stuff as every indie game does nowadays and the last moments of the game left me thinking about how I was going to end up dissatisfied (and I was). I really liked the music though, some of it was memorable. The gameplay controls very nicely but the level designs of the B sides are very bad and were not worth playing. Its just an average experience overall, and one I don't think I'll ever really want to go through again.… Expand
  24. andrew9
    Jul 15, 2022
    7
    good game .
  25. tarant75
    Nov 4, 2019
    5
    Actually I think this game is very much overrated. The gameplay is often frustrating. If you like games which you have to do the same again, again, again then you might like it. But there are much better games which have the same concept, for example meat boy. I actually love platformer games but there are also much better games (design, story, concept, etc) than Celeste. I also thinkActually I think this game is very much overrated. The gameplay is often frustrating. If you like games which you have to do the same again, again, again then you might like it. But there are much better games which have the same concept, for example meat boy. I actually love platformer games but there are also much better games (design, story, concept, etc) than Celeste. I also think there are better pixel graphics games. I don't like Celeste very much. But the game is ok, it is not a bad game after all. But I don't believe it belongs to the top games for Switch.… Expand
  26. ZXSth
    Feb 25, 2023
    5
    An unfortunately disappointing experience that could not meet the expectations built up by numerous glowing reviews I had seen. While the game possesses tight controls and solid sound design, the main draw of the game - its themes and characters - felt ham-fisted and annoying: Theo, in particular, felt unbearably grating, while Madeline's struggles with depression felt as though they wereAn unfortunately disappointing experience that could not meet the expectations built up by numerous glowing reviews I had seen. While the game possesses tight controls and solid sound design, the main draw of the game - its themes and characters - felt ham-fisted and annoying: Theo, in particular, felt unbearably grating, while Madeline's struggles with depression felt as though they were being portrayed in a simplistic, insulting and naive way. I truly wanted to like and appreciate the story being told here, but I found it more frustrating than anything, and that is quite disappointing. And perhaps more disappointingly, the gameplay did not feel compelling enough (despite its solid level of challenge) to help me push past the failings of the story. Overall, a perfectly functional game with a disappointingly simplistic perspective on depression and mental health.… Expand
  27. rookfire
    Dec 25, 2020
    7
    this is a game that requires you to make really precise jumps. thank god for the assist mode because i would never be able to make it through the game otherwise. the areas are all well-designed, the music is great! and the art is really cute. i love each new mechanic in each new area. i found the story a bit boring though... the game is really enjoyable if you like technically demandingthis is a game that requires you to make really precise jumps. thank god for the assist mode because i would never be able to make it through the game otherwise. the areas are all well-designed, the music is great! and the art is really cute. i love each new mechanic in each new area. i found the story a bit boring though... the game is really enjoyable if you like technically demanding games, or you like a challenge… Expand
  28. Theobaer
    Jun 11, 2020
    6
    Challenging, somewhat overhyped, definetly overpriced action platformer. With no flaws in execution. Get it on Sale. If the price drops below 10 Euros, add 2 points; if it drops below 5 Euros, add 3 points.
  29. RetroGameDays36
    Aug 1, 2022
    7
    I don't usually play platformers, but I do play some of them time to time, Celeste doesn't really impress me in any way, but I wouldn't say it's a bad game, far from it, it's not really memorable or something *really* special, but it has its qualities, in some way or the other

    The controls feel really responsive, but sometimes it does its hiccups, it's extremely basic as well, all you    I don't usually play platformers, but I do play some of them time to time, Celeste doesn't really impress me in any way, but I wouldn't say it's a bad game, far from it, it's not really memorable or something *really* special, but it has its qualities, in some way or the other

    The controls feel really responsive, but sometimes it does its hiccups, it's extremely basic as well, all you can do is move left or right, jump, climb and dash (grounded or not), some levels take advantage of your movement options, it's simple, but if this game ever gets a sequel/spin-off I'd really want it expanded in some way.

    The levels themselves tho... my god, they're too big, what the hell am I playing? A metroidvania or a platformer? It's so easy to get lost sometimes in most levels, some levels have linear sections but the spike in difficulty in these are ridiculous sometimes, and sometimes I got really focused in one part of the level that I completely forgot about the other parts of the map, basically just making the level worth revisiting for a good section of it and just that, the only real memorable levels I've found were the mirror temple (the 5th level), and The Summit (the 7th level) and just that, the other levels were chipped away as just "oh I remember this part" or stuff like that

    most of my deaths (had 862 in total) were because of **** moments like those red orbs going the wrong way or hitting the wall with those stardust walls, but did it feel unfair in any way? Not really, there's a difference between fun challenging platforming and **** difficult levels, due to how quick you die and how close you respawn to where you messed up (sometimes), it felt like a fair trade-off for me, but the difficulty of the platforming just discourages me to go for the optional collectibles, because that's where the more difficult platforming is.

    The characters aren't really something too memorable but I can see that they made them stand out in someway, one character is optimistic while the other is pessimistic, one is stubborn/confident while the other one is the opposite of that, some of the dialogue I found entertaining while others i found... "Why the **** did you even do that to begin with??"

    I think the game started to feel a bit more interesting at the end of it, something that I don't really quite like in some games because it just feels like they put more attention to the end of the game but the rest was untouched/unpolished, and when the game was over, I was like: "That's it?"

    I like the immersive music/sound effects, it makes the game a little bit more charming.

    The amalgamation of these things make this game have some sort of charm to it, for me, it's nothing really that special, and I wouldn't see myself playing it again sometime soon, is it a bad game? far from it, is it an amazing game also? Also far from it, it's nothing that can't be replicated/rivaled anytime soon, overall, it's a fine game, but not something I would revisit, like some other games like Terraria or Sonic Mania.    … Expand
  30. udlrabcs
    May 11, 2021
    6
    Celeste is certainly a fine game and I've clearly enjoyed playing it (having now logged over 12 hours). It's difficult without ever being unfair, brings an exceptional soundtrack, and has gorgeous retro/pixelated graphics the belie the depth of the storyline.

    However, after the initial intrigue had worn off I found the gameplay had become largely repetitive (jump, mid-air jump, climb,    Celeste is certainly a fine game and I've clearly enjoyed playing it (having now logged over 12 hours). It's difficult without ever being unfair, brings an exceptional soundtrack, and has gorgeous retro/pixelated graphics the belie the depth of the storyline.

    However, after the initial intrigue had worn off I found the gameplay had become largely repetitive (jump, mid-air jump, climb, repeat) - the different worlds not offering enough variation to avoid the sensation of having done it all before. There were also some other admittedly small issues (minor narrative pacing issues and the fact that the controls would benefit from a D pad) meaning that I simply didn’t find the game as revolutionary or original the many suggested it might be (so many of which went so far as to mark Celeste as the best 2d platformer ever). In short, a solid game that perhaps just isn't for me.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best Switch Game of 2018
6
#6 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018
9
#9 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. COGconnected
    Oct 10, 2018
    93
    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.
    Read full review
  2. Video Chums
    Aug 25, 2018
    80
    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.
    Read full review
  3. DarkZero
    Jun 12, 2018
    100
    My hands actually hurt from gripping the Switch but I couldn’t stop, and when I finally landed on the other side of one of the many gauntlets that Celeste wears like a medal, I felt both relief and curiosity as to what it would throw at me next. It’s a rewarding experience and a game that I’m honoured to issue a perfect score.
    Read full review
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