Al Diegel – 12
Celeste is a puzzle platformer in which the player plays as a young mountain climber named Madeline, who wants to climb Celeste Mountain to overcome her mental struggles. The game has a heartwarming and often disturbing story, portraying Madeline’s mental health through a mirror version of herself brought to the real world. Through her journey up the mountain, she encounters strange characters, meets new friends, and eventually learns to accept and tame the mirror version of herself.
The game also uses a unique puzzle mechanic called dashing. While dashing is prominent in many games, it is a core mechanic in Celeste, as Madaline can dash in any direction only once until she touches ground again. Most of the puzzles in the game involve dashing in some way, some of which require the player not to dash, or to dash at very specific times.
Celeste also has a lovely soundtrack, mostly composed by Lena Raine. There are extra levels called B-Sides in the game, which have remixed versions of Lena Raine’s original music.
All this together builds a game that can teach a small lesson to those who are looking at the bigger picture, all while remaining a fun and challenging game.
