celeste game review
Celeste: The hardcore platform at the topDominating men and rising to the sky, the mountain has always been a subject of fascination. A symbol which is far from having been chosen by chance in Celeste. The platformer of Matt Thorson, developer who had revealed himself with TowerFall Ascension, promises an ascent rich in emotions, millimeter jumps and repeated deaths ... on condition of first succeeding in climbing his own inner mountain and Excel. Rest assured: the reward is worth it.
If you follow Matt Thorson's news closely, you may have already got your hands on Celeste a few years ago. A prototype of the game, still accessible today, had been produced in a few days as part of the Summer Games Done Quick 2016 edition. Two years later, the independent developer, who took care of the level and the game design, here gives us a perilous journey in its most complete form.
FAIL TO SUCCEED BETTER
"The more you die, the more you learn." Celeste's help messages set the tone. Here we have a hardcore platformer who considers that failure is the best way to learn. An approach which, in normal times, instantly cools the ardor of many players, those who prefer for example to watch someone ruin their thumbs on Cuphead rather than being frustrated by the repeated deaths it inflicts. At first glance, Celeste has everything to be placed in the same category, with its hundreds of pieces (more than 700) containing platforms, spikes and other traps placed precisely so as to punish the careless player who jumps a pixel too far or too close from where he would like to land.Only, the developers have decided not to sideline this fringe of players. The trick: an assistance tool, allowing you to have an à la carte experience and get out of an overly difficult situation by adjusting certain parameters, such as the speed of the game, the number of usable dashboards or simply becoming invincible. . A tool to be taken as a means of learning, preferably used as a last resort so as not to kill the interest of the game and the feeling of accomplishment it provides. Death is a norm, but the game starts again in an instant after each failure, without ever losing more than twenty seconds of gameplay to push us to start again. "Why are you so nervous?", "You can do it!" : the developers believe in us at all times and they let us know when the doubt overwhelms us.
THE MOUNTAIN OF ANGUISIS
The doubt, Madeline is inhabited by it. At first, the motivations that push our protagonist to want to reach the top of this mountain strewn with deadly obstacles are unclear. Very quickly, during the ascent, her confrontation (literally) with herself and meetings with different fellow travelers, from the narcissistic traveler who loves selfies to the phantom hotel manager lost by his personal failures, his states of souls clear up. They allow us to glimpse a reflection on depression and surpassing oneself, through dialogues that seem very simple, but which are in reality perfectly chiseled to serve a touching story and free to interpret.Between her and her goal are a ruined city, a messy hotel or a dark temple. So many places that will allow him to confront his own limits. In his bag, neither rope nor ice ax: his only "weapon" is his ability to jump, climb on most surfaces as long as he has enough energy, and to "dasher" in one of the eight possible directions. The gameplay combines both sensations of handling rarely as pleasant (even on Switch in portable mode) with unparalleled simplicity and efficiency, but it reveals more depth than it seems over time.
Each of the eight chapters thus adds a minimum of game mechanics, giving an addictive and rhythmic side to the ascent of this mountain. There are feathers allowing to fly a short distance, transparent surfaces that it is possible to cross, bubbles to go in a straight line on a direction while resetting the possibility of dasher ... nothing really new, but the variety offered never tires of a level design displaying watchmaker precision.
BRING YOUR STRAWBERRY
Generally, the player only has a micro-second to make his decisions in the heat of the moment: when should I smoke? Will I have time to climb to the top of this surface? It is imperative to chain ten seconds of perfectly calibrated actions to get out of it. Uncertainty is permanent, but the game is never unfair. In this sense, it displays a certain "puzzle" side, with mechanics sometimes reminiscent of those of Super Meat Boy, sometimes those of a Super Mario. After having analyzed the game screen and the obstacles it contains, the angle, the timing and the range of the jumps are all data to take into account to reach the objective: the other end of the screen to Continue the adventure, knowing that there are sometimes different branches to take, but also the strawberries which generously dot the levels. These act as collectable objects, which "will impress your friends, but that's it," says the game itself. They have no other goal than to satisfy the ego of the relentless collector in absolute quest for 100%. Celeste simply likes to challenge the player, displaying the death counter and the minutes spent in each world. More than a reminder of our failures, a source of motivation to always do better (a speedrun counter can also be activated) and an archive of our perseverance.And it takes to see the end of all the content that the game offers. If reaching the top of the mountain in a first run will probably take you only ten hours maximum depending on the dexterity of your thumbs, the players looking for a challenge will find a way to quench their thirst and double or even triple their lifespan. First there are the B and C sides, "dark world" versions of each world which raise the difficulty of a really significant notch, but also the golden strawberries and hearts for the most motivated. Enough to have a good time while offering its share of memorable moments, such as the final ascent, a pure euphoric summary of everything the game offers.
THE ARTISTIC ASCENSION
This is undoubtedly the most remarkable thing with Celeste: he is not satisfied with being generous in content and successful in his vision of the platformer. It's simple, no aspect has been left to chance or overlooked, down to the details. The audio and visual feedback thus make it possible to guide the player in his actions or to support them. The typical example is the heroine's hair which changes color according to the number of dash she can use at the moment, or even the reduction of sound when we are immersed in water. The care given to the graphics is not to be outdone. While the first levels display dark shades, the environments are enriched with more colorful shades as soon as one goes up in altitude. We could quibble by saying that certain sets of decorations sometimes hamper the visibility of traps, but this is very rare. This deliberately minimalist pixel art is complemented by traditional interface elements (such as the texts of dialogues), a 3D map and handmade drawings that accompany the key moments of the game.In the different atmospheres of the game, there is always a sweet melancholy, perfectly supported by musical compositions that will resonate in your head for a long time. The young composer Lena Raine has perfectly transcribed this idea of ascent, with electro tones that raise adrenaline when necessary, piano notes that support moments of solitude or even agonizing chiptune passages. Enough to allow Celeste to achieve excellence and make a lasting mark. He does not innovate in any way an already well established genre and takes no risks, but is more than competent at all levels. There are sources of frustration, of course, but the summit is always there, never out of reach.
lways there, never out of reach.
The notes
+ Positive points
Perfectly calibrated gameplay with an exhilarating character to take in hand
Fair and well oriented difficulty curve
Level intelligent and precise design, which is renewed with each chapter
Generous content for a colossal lifespan: around 10 hours and hundreds of dead to finish the game a first time, at least triple for the 100% and even more for the relentless chrono
A remarkable soundtrack, between soft piano notes and aggressive synths, signed Lena Raine
A light and touching story tackling serious themes
The assistance tool, a great game design idea that makes the game accessible to everyone despite its difficulty
-Negative points
A slight lack of ambition in terms of game mechanics
Set compositions that sometimes play trompe l'oeil with traps
Apart from the fact that your thumbs may suffer, it is difficult to find significant faults in Celeste, as it takes the genre of platformer to a summit which culminates at very high altitude. The title of Matt Thorson and his team excels in everything it offers: an exhilarating grip, levels so well arranged that the ascent of this mountain becomes addictive, music that serves both the gameplay and this story who should touch more than one ... He also allows himself to be generous, and, without doubt his real masterpiece, to offer a vision of the platformer that is suitable for all types of players: whether you are addicted to the search for collectable objects or not, whether you want to drool or simply immerse yourself in this unique atmosphere. If you've ever been to Super Meat Boy or N ++, Celeste is simply unmissable. If on the contrary you hesitate to take your first steps, there is probably no better way to discover the genre. Come for the challenge, you will finally stay for Madeline and her companions.
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