5/5 ★ – philip_acquaro's review of Celeste.

Started: May 27th 2025 Beaten: May 30th 2025 This is the best platformer i’ve ever played only second to Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2 (they’re tied) and is also now in my top 10 games i’ve ever played. From the moment I started to the super fun and emotional journey I would experience through the beautiful sprite work and animation, the incredibly tight and fluid gameplay, the very charming and relatable characters, and the top tier soundtrack, I knew that I was in for one of those rare special games that I would never forget. By the end of it, this game far exceeded all expectations and i’m just left in awe of every bit of it. Every chapter has such a fun gimmick in which the main mechanic of the game (the jump boost) compliments and makes for some of the most enjoyable and engaging platforming I have had the pleasure of playing. I did die an astronomical amount of times, but rather than every death leading to frustration, it only pushed me to persevere, which I find very fitting to the theme of the game. Also still managed to complete it within the average time polled so surely I’m not the only player who had trouble lol. I think they added just the right amount of challenge without just throwing complete BS at you, but that being said, it can get very stressful and tough in some spots! I also think it’s really important to try to grab as many of the strawberries (the optional collectible of the game) as possible as a really big chunk of the levels have side areas/challenges that are so much fun! Many times there’ll be 2 ways to go, one being the easier route, and the other being the more challenging one that’ll grant you a strawberry. Or in other cases, there are other areas in the chapter open to you or secret to you that will have strawberries to collect through a mini obstacle level. If you haven’t played the game, I’m urging you to challenge yourself and get them! They incentivize exploration, more areas of level to play, and will even affect the ending in a very minor way. Now yes, some strawberries are fine to skip when they’re incredibly hard but it’s so much more rewarding to try to get as many as possible. On top of the gameplay, this game does something that most 2D platformers only scratch the surface of whether that’s Mario or Sonic and that’s implementing a very compelling narrative with some very emotional adult themes. Along with having a new mechanic in each chapter, there is also a story that builds to the overarching narrative where you meet and learn much about the few central characters backgrounds, motives, distinct personalities, and inner demons in the main characters case. The main plot revolves around Madeline, who is struggling with her fight against depression and anxiety while overcoming her doubt and insecurities in her journey to reach the top of this supernatural mountain. The mountain’s magical presence allows for many things to happen throughout the journey including bringing to life, the darker part of Madeline to which she tries to run away from but will eventually have to confront. I don’t want to spoil many of the plot points or much of the characters as if anyone is interested in trying this for the first time, I’d urge them to go into it as blindly as possibly and just experience this platforming spectacle firsthand. I realize that this had came out back in 2018 and I deeply regret never playing it since but am so happy that I did because man, what a game.