Celeste

Everything in Celeste looks perfectly in place. Each pixel, each color choice, each platform, even the fonts chosen to tell its story through the delicious dialogues between the characters, never taken for granted and moreover translated into Italian with elegant choices that respect the original tone. In short, falling in love with Madeleine and all this small world is almost inevitable.

But the game created by MattMakesGames (a name that, again, tells by itself the simple, naive and artisan approach behind Celeste) is not only "cute". It is not only "sweet" and full of warmth, too, when his little adventurer seems to sink into a whirlwind of paranoia and pain. Celeste is also and before all this a great platform game, designed in an elegant, intelligent and effective way ... and then created with equal capacity.

The work of the same author of the excellent Towerfall is rightfully part of the platform games genre, which explores without subverting the written rules too much, but by exploiting its findings in a precise and rigorous way. Madeleine can jump and attach to the walls and walls of the mountain, climbing them at least for a few moments before the resistance wears off and is destined to lose its grip. This is not all, however, given that the central mechanism around which the entire management of the movements rotates within the levels is represented by the click it can make in any direction. Even in midair.

Celeste thus becomes a game that requires the ability to analyze the situation, to understand how to "solve it" and then to apply the movements available to the small cluster of pixels that Madeleine displays on screen with perfect timing. The risk of failing is always around the corner and there are no discounts: if you die (a blow from a spike of ice is enough or of course the fall into an abyss) you start from the beginning of the room. Since in fact each chapter of the game is divided into many different "rooms".

Restarting is a matter of an instant thanks to instant uploads and it is precisely here that the best part of Celeste arrives: doing it is never heavy. Being wrong is not frustrating, but intriguing. Each time you have the feeling of being closer to the perfect movement, which will lead to the exit from the room and the next challenge. The difficulty is calibrated in a practically flawless way, so as to make the game demanding and severe, but never unfairly cruel. Even when it happens to make mistakes and fail and make mistakes repeatedly, perhaps ringing dozens of failures, it is difficult to abandon Madeleine disconsolate to her fate.

Absturzgefahr

At first glance, Celeste is a classic hopping game that requires clever, precise navigation and mercilessly punishes mistakes. Together with heroine Madeline you climb the eponymous mountain Celeste. The path leads through ruins and over steep slopes. You will not only meet characters like the selfie-shooting tourist Theo, but also Madeline's evil twin sister, who wants to prevent her from climbing at all costs. The climbing section is divided into eight chapters, each with dozens of levels, which usually correspond to a screen. If Madeline dies, the section restarts immediately. And that happens often. Madeline plunges into the abyss hundreds of times, touches deadly spines or is crushed by platforms.

To prevent this, you have to budget with two scarce resources. The first is Madeline's perseverance. She can climb up the wall using the shoulder button, but can only stay there for a few seconds. As soon as she loses her footing, she falls. The second and most important resource is the dash maneuver . With this, Madeline can make a big jump in any direction in the air - but only once! The dash is only recharged when it touches the ground again or picks up a special crystal.

Simple, not easy

Three buttons for jumping, dash and climbing are enough. Instead of equipping Madeline with more and more skills, variety comes into play through the level design . Each chapter introduces new elements. In one section there are moving platforms that move simultaneously with the dash. Others offer air bubbles that let you take another jump in the air.

The simple dash must always be used a little differently. Finding the best route is more important than a precise landing. Each section is a small puzzle that can be solved with the right combination of Madeline's repertoire of movement and the environment (dash crystals!). Despite hundreds of sections, no idea repeats itself. You always have to rethink to conquer the mountain.

Do not give up

The further you go from sea level, the steeper the level of difficulty increases. The learning curve is perfectly coordinated. Celeste always presents you with challenges that are just the right bit harder than the previous ones. Again and again you jump into ruin, but you can immediately try your luck again.

Thanks to the extremely precise control and the demanding, but fair level of difficulty, there is no frustration after dozens of attempts. If an attempt fails, it is always clear where you made a mistake.

Steep wall climbing with safety line

Those who haven't had enough after completing the almost eight-hour main path can hunt for hidden strawberries. Although these have no effect on the game, they offer a challenge for daring gamers, hovering over distant precipices or hiding behind invisible walls. And even after that there are still particularly difficult versions of all existing levels with the so-called B-sides .

However, that shouldn't scare anyone. At the start of the game, similar to newer Nintendo games, you can activate a help mode that reduces the game speed or makes Madeline immortal. The developers want to encourage everyone to play through Celeste.

Breathe, Madeline!

What also makes Celeste a real gem is the heartbreaking story. For many jump 'n' runs, rather an appendage, it plays an important role here. Despite the pastel pixel look, it gets surprisingly dark. It's about depression and self-doubt. The mountain metaphor was not chosen at random.

It is all the better then to master these difficulties together with her. Celeste manages to bring the rare feat, feel and story into almost perfect harmony . What Madeline experiences in history - overcoming an almost impossible challenge - is also reflected in the gameplay.

Rewarding prospect

The figures and levels are bursting with details despite the large pixels. Drops of sweat warn of the impending crash, and Madeline's hair color shows whether she can use the dash maneuver. Each chapter has its own identity, which is reflected not only in the game mechanics, but also in a variety of colors and backgrounds. Sometimes the latter are even a bit too playful, so the legibility of the platforms suffers somewhat. Particularly noteworthy is the soundtrack by Lena Raine (Guild Wars 2). Sometimes melancholic, sometimes driving, sometimes triumphant, the mixture of electronic sound and chip tune underlines the emotional roller coaster ride of the game.

A little masterpiece

Celeste is in the tradition of games like Super Meat Boy or FEZ and doesn't have to shy away from this comparison. The big difference to other hardcore platforms is Celeste's attitude towards those who fail at the game. They are told here that asking for help is absolutely fine.

Madeline's goal is to climb the mountain, and everyone can do it at their own pace. It is this philosophy that makes Celeste so special. You never fight the game, but go on a journey with him. If you finish it, you will not only be rewarded with the view from the mountain top, but with a playful and narrative masterpiece - no matter how skillful you are with the controller.