Celeste

Celeste is a challenging platformer where Madeline tries to climb a mountain. No one explains why she needs this: the answers are revealed through characters and conversations as she climbs. The mountain greets you with silence and snow-covered paths, and below there remains your old life, which the heroine does not want to put up with. The controls take a couple of minutes to master, and then everything depends on patience. The controls are simple: run, jump, dash and cling to walls, and the difficulty is based on precision. The levels are divided into rooms, and each death returns you to the beginning of the screen instantly, which is why trying again is not boring. The plot goes along with the game: the heroine struggles with anxiety and her own double, and other inhabitants of the mountain help her. The dialogue is short, but it's what makes the climb a personal story rather than an athletic exercise. The pixelated style and music emphasize the mood: calm themes give way to alarming ones in moments of failure. The individual rooms look like a textbook on level design, as each one tests a specific technique. Secrets like strawberries force you to look for the riskiest routes. In addition to the main line, there are additional levels, speed tests and collectibles. Pixel art and music create a cozy mood even in the most tense moments. Additional levels like the chapter on stress feel like standalone stories rather than appendices. After passing, there are still tests and a reason to evaluate your own skills. For anyone who loves honest difficulty and good stories, this mountain remains in the memory for a long time.