Currently Online 
Celeste is my favorite game this year so far by a lot, and probably a lock for my favorite 2018 game. I'm an older gamer who loves a stiff, 2D platforming challenge like what Celeste offers, and also happen to struggle with depression and anxiety myself, so I really connected to the game's story strongly.
I really appreciated the honesty of Madeline's path to recovery. Mental illness really does feel like climbing a mountain and it does feel like there's another person there with you sewing self-doubt a lot of the time. A lot of media portrays depression and anxiety that type of way, but pose simpler solutions than the more honest one Celeste conveys. Usually media portrays recovery as a simple matter of choosing to reject and abolish that fearful, self-doubting part of yourself. NOT how it works! It's not that easy! It's not even good for you. And there ARE relapses! Really bad ones. It's not just all upward momentum.
[SPOILERS!]I really appreciated that Madeline winds up having to reconcile with her alter-ego instead of having to destroy her or some simplistic solution like that. It really is about learning to love yourself so that you don't have to be so afraid all the time. I can't say I'm there, but this suggestion seems accurate to me. That's what it's about. I also liked how, in keeping with this theme, Madeline winds up reconciling with all of the "enemies" in the game, in fact. And I mean there are really only a couple at that. And that's something else I loved about Celeste: that it doesn't go the cheap route of just throwing progressively more enemies at you as you advance to up the challenge gradually in a way that's superficial. Rather, genuinely clever stage design consistently forms the basis of the challenge on offer, as it should in a platforming game, IMO. I mean very few games in this genre use no proper enemies at all! I really applaud the developers' decision to avoid recoursing to them entirely here. That was brave and it forced them to really design the stages well![/SPOILERS]
I also just have to say something about Celeste's wonderful soundtrack because it sets the mood flawlessly, consistently. It's gentle, atmospheric, and soothing. It doesn't feel like the usual second-rate pop type music that we tend to get in platforming games. And the way they gently placed the story bits into each stage in a way that feels absolutely natural, never forced...it just adds another layer of specialness. The retro vibes help get me into the experience as well, being someone more dependent on nostalgia than I think most people my age are. (It's about remembering times in my life when I was happy.)To that end, I really appreciated the little touches like the inclusion of tapes and the protagonist not having a smart phone or social media accounts.
The writing quality is some of the best in all of gaming to date. The characters all really come to life. And there's just something to be said as well for the natural-feeling way that they integrated the story bits into each stage. It never once feels forced, pretentious, or burdensome at all. Just a delight that strongly motivates you to keep playing!
On top of all that, you have the B-sides for extra challenge (which I want!) and, if feeling lazy (or just not skilled at these types of games, but still interested in the beautiful story), you have the option to basically cheat your way through too, alternatively. There's something here for every type of gamer and mood.
It's going to be tough for another game to top all that and I'm not aware of any game on the near-term (i.e. 2018) horizon that appears to have the potential to do so as yet. Not for my taste anyway.
Last edited by Jaicee - on 30 June 2018
