If that’s intimidating, then the Assist Mode might be your new best friend. The unlockables are also marked so you know which areas to go back to if you’re looking for the final few strawberries.Ī simple normal game completion is already a steep task without taking into consideration all the hidden areas and other trials. Once a chapter is completed, your completion time and death count is tracked. Hearts and other items are also hidden throughout, unlocking even harder post-game platforming challenges.

Each chapter also contains a cassette tape that unlocks a B-Side, which is a much harder version of the chapter with a remixed musical track. Strawberries are akin to the Star Coins in recent Mario games, though they don’t appear to unlock anything. The critical path is easy to follow, but secrets are nestled throughout with strawberries being the reward for most of the extraneous areas. It’s incredible how smart the wordless tutorials are along the way as well as the numerous ways these ideas are mixed and matched to create clever segments and areas.Ĭhapters contain a variety of interconnected rooms packed with puzzling trials. To go into further detail of these concepts would ruin the exploratory delight, as each new area houses multiple new ideas. Throughout each chapter, multiple new twists are introduced, like platforms that move when you dash or see-through boxes that shoot you out like a cannon when you dash into them. The dash can be used almost as a double jump, but it’s used in more ways than just that, as it can also be used as an attack or a way to speed up on the ground. Madeline can jump, climb on walls, and dash. The platforming is simple but feels just right. The whole story has a magical realism vibe to it that works far better than I ever would have thought, and key emotional payoffs result in earned new abilities or boosts that tie the story to gameplay. The game is split into chapters and generally those are bookended by story moments that touch on some relatable feelings of depression and isolation.

A few other characters show up along the way, including the good-natured hipster Theo and a dark version of Madeline. Celeste stars Madeline, a troubled girl attempting to climb the titular mountain.

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