a curated selection of thoughts collected within a 1 gb limit
the following was originally a school assignment written beforehand about the video game celeste. but honestly, i love this game too much to care. plus i still kinda like what i wrote anyway so here it is in its entirety. there's already so much out there that goes into the specifics of celeste's core game design and how it unifies its story with its gameplay to create a unique experience entirely. so think of this as an introductory piece to those who still somehow haven't played it yet.
when developing a video game, there are usually different design choices that can build the core gameplay loop. the best games often strike a right balance between challenge and pure fun to create a full gaming experience. celeste, from extremely OK games, is a game that not only achieves in striking that balance, but also enhances itself with difficult platforming as well as simultaneously inviting more casual players to learn how to overcome these hard challenges.
one feature that celeste has that makes it stand out is the challenging yet generous gameplay. in every chapter, there are short rooms of little challenges that involve jumping, dashing in mid-air, and chapter-specific design choices. this is on top of extra challenges that lead to extra collectibles, mostly strawberries. if the player dies in the room, the only penalty they have is that they start over from the beginning of that specific room. however, what makes this challenging gameplay so generous is that it takes less than two seconds to restart the room and get back into playing the game. it is this mixture of bite-sized level design and quick loading times that makes the challenge even more satisfying when the player beats it and move onto the next room.
another feature that elevates celeste as a game involves the themes regarding mental health, which also correlate with the gameplay. the story involves the character madeline climbing to the summit of celeste mountain on top of facing her inner demons on her quest, mainly a part of her, or badeline. the game tackles themes of depression and self-worth and its implementations into gameplay speak directly to the player. in between chapters, there are notes which motivate the player to the point where one note points out that every death goes to a death counter in the game. on top of that, it points out that they should really be proud of it, implying that every death taken is a chance to grow and learn. also in chapter 7, the summit, in between checkpoints are short cutscenes where madeline and badeline come to terms with each other and become willing to overcome the challenges as long as they stick together. it is a moment of overcoming the past and learning from it to move forward, attributing to the core gameplay of learning techniques to overcome the level design. these moments speak to the player in a way that motivates them to keep going. it is inviting for new players to learn the gameplay loop and consistently keeps up that inviting feeling for those who have played to the end.
celeste is a masterpiece of a game that perfectly creates the balance of casual gameplay and very hard challenges to learn from. it is a game that can best be described as easy to learn, yet hard to master. and when the game has been mastered, it feels all the more satisfying.
so basically what i'm saying with this prewritten essay is that this game is like super meat boy but with a continuous story. i think you should buy it.