“Celeste” | Photo from GameStop
A game that is sure to keep your frustration levels at an all-time high, “Celeste” is the most frustrating beauty of a game.
The game’s plot is simple: there’s a young woman named Madeline and she wants to climb Celeste Mountain. Over the course of the game, players are able to witness just how perilous this journey is for her, in both practicality and metaphorically.
The game itself is a platformer where jumping and dashing to open platforms is the key to victory. The only problem is that the level design is amazing and geared to make the player work for success.
In other words, this game is HARD. On the third chapter of the game, I lost over 1,000 times (I’m sure it was 2,000 times over a three-hour session). This was where my frustration stemmed from throughout. But to be fair, I was never frustrated at the game, because I never felt like it was a hopeless endeavor.
The game simulates what it’s like to climb a mountain without actually simulating that at all. “Celeste” is supposed to be a tough game because climbing a mountain is tough, more than that I’m sure.
Which brings me to Madeline, the main character of this sure-to-be indie classic. As the story progresses, we see her layers start to unravel both literally and figuratively. Her dark opposite manifests itself early on in the game and literally hinders her progress up the mountain.
We also see Madeline dealing with her anxiety and insecurities throughout.
A prime example of her anxiety is when her dark side causes a hotel gondola to stop, inducing immediate panic. This may seem like a minor thing at first until you consider that the dark side of Madeline represents her anxiety, depression and insecurities.
To take that a step further, her dark side was gaining the upper hand on her in that moment.
It’s only after she is calmed by her new acquaintance Theo that she relaxes and continues her journey up the mountain. The symbolism in this game is pretty smart to say the least.
Madeline’s climb is a way for her to prove herself to herself; it’s a challenge that she doesn’t want to be scared away from. Madeline is also grappling with her mental health and her methods for coping aren’t sustainable. She makes some friends along her journey who help her see herself in a brighter light.
She makes the climb successfully and it requires her to be her whole self. Which is a light spoiler but, if “Endgame” has taught us anything, it’s that the journey matters most, not how it ends.
