Celeste — a hardcore pixel platformer with a touching story

Nintendo Switch Indie Review

Celeste answers the question ‘how can you make a plot really work in a video game?’. It’s a question we should all be asking more often, particularly when this is the answer.

Of course, a game must — first and foremost — be fun to play. Any emotional journey we may undertake whilst playing it can only really be considered a bonus. Thankfully, Celeste delivers in gameplay terms, too.

Gameplay

Celeste is a ‘masocore’ (a somewhat tautological portmanteau of “masochist” and “hardcore”) game — essentially, it’s designed to be very difficult and consists of individual levels that are played one-by-one, repeatedly, sometimes many times over. “You will die lots of times but you have infinite lives” is essentially the vibe here. Restarting each level — which typically consists of 1–3 screens — is instantaneous, though, and you can quit-and-continue at any time.

Right at the beginning, and a helpful bird appears to teach you some of the basics

Madeline, the protagonist, has a pretty common set of abilities available to navigate each level: jumping, dashing, wall-clinging. Much of the main action takes place in midair, and certain strategically-placed items contribute to this; diamonds grant an extra dash, and bubbles propel Maddy in any chosen direction.