Recent reviews by studkid

So for some reason I decided to hold off on this game because it was $20 and there were other difficult platformers I really wanted to beat for a much cheaper price, namely Meat Boy and the End is Nigh, but now that I've finally bought this game (back in late December) I can say that this game is probably my favorite precision platformer I've played, and is definitely up there for being my favorite game period. So I guess I should probably break down what makes this game such an outstanding game.

Gameplay:
Controls are super tight and work extremely well. You are given complete control of the main character (Madeline). You pretty much stop on a dime when im mid air allowing you to be very precise. You also get a dash ability that gives so much utility. Without spoiling too much of the special mechanics behind it, there are a lot of creative ways to utilize the dash to manipulate your speed and movement which makes using the dash already so much fun.

Stages:
There are currently 7 chapters with one hidden chapter you can unlock later on. Each chapter offers a unique gameplay mechanic to play with. Some of these gameplay mechanics aren't really seen much after that initial stage, and if anything, the mechanics are added on to other stage mechanics. The aesthetic design of each chapter is also fairly unique and help diversify stages too. All of the chapters took me around 1-2 hours to complete, with 7 being by far the longest. If you want a bit more of a challenge, there is also 2 extra variants of each chapter that doesn't interfere with the story at all, and instead are just pure, difficult platforming.

Collectables:
There are 3 main collectables in the game. The main one you will see is strawberries. These are just fun challenge collectables that don't really effect the outcome too much outside of a special end screen. If you just want to romp through the levels ignoring strawberries, there is nothing stopping you
Minor spoilers The second collectable is cassette tapes. These unlock the B-Side of the current level, which is a much harder varient of the normal level. These tend to be a bit more hidden than strawberries too.
Slightly more major spoilers I guess The third is hearts. Hearts are typically the hardest collectable to find. Each stage has one, with B (and C) sides rewarding a heart for completing it. They serve to unlock, something. You'll just need to find out for youself ;)

Music:
Oh my gosh the music. The OST is absolutely amazing. Each song just fits with the stage so nicely and captures the overall feel of the stage, or cutscene. it's really hard to describe into words but trust me, if you end up playing it, you will know what I mean.

Story:
I don't want to talk too much in-depth about the story as the game is relatively short with a fairly simple story as to avoid spoilers. Do note that there is a focus on anxiety and depression in the story, however this IS NOT just another overly edgy game. It's a lot more of a heartfelt adventure that I almost was even brought to tears at certain parts. It's probably not a story for everyone, but I feel is one that most people can relate to in some way.

Accessibility vs Challenge:
First off, this game does have a pseudo "easy mode" button you can hit. The good thing? It's never thrown in your face when the game thinks you are doing poorly (actually the game does the opposite and offers words of encouragement to continue going). This "easy mode" is called assist mode. It's a small little toggle button you can flip on at any point in the game from the file select. What assist mode does is grants access to the assist mode menu option, which gives different game modifiers to help out. There are some that are just minor tweaks, like a time slow, infinite stamina, or a second dash, to being essentially a room skip with complete invincibility, infinite dashes, or a chapter skip if you so wish (although I would discourage the use of personally mainly in terms of just missing story details).
As for those who want a challenge, there is always the aforementioned B and C sides. You also have golden strawberries that are unlocked after unlocking the sides, requiring you to beat each stage completely deathless with a hidden 25th one somewhere. There is also variants mode which works very similarly to assist mode, but for increasing the difficulty in some ways like speedups, no grab, and a few others (unlocked after beating every stage, including B and C sides). If flying through the game is more your speed, try learning the speed run. There is a great and thriving speedrun community with a very high skill ceiling. The run itself isn't too hard too learn (at least for normal any%) but there is a lot of different improvements to be made.

Mods:
Celeste DOES NOT natively support mods, however there is a free and easy to launch mod loaded by the name of Everest. With Everest you can do things like modify sprites (like madeline's hair color), play custom levels made by the community (some with their own custom modded mechanics), and even play online with a friend using Ghost Net. Everest has support on all 3 PC platforms (Windows, Mac, and Linux) so if having user generated content interests you, feel free to give it a shot. There is a discord server also for it with a bunch of friendly users there who can help you through the install process should something go wrong.

So, would I recommend this game? Well if it wasn't obvious by the big thumbs up I gave it, yes I freaking do. Whether you are looking for a new difficult platformer to add to your collection, looking for a game with a short, yet ingaging story, or even if you are getting into the precision platformer genre, I would highly recommend this game to anyone. And with a brand new free DLC chapter coming out in the near future, now is a very good time to jump in and play!

I got this game a few months ago and it is really fun to play!

The reason I keep coming back to this game are these reasons:
-Great soundtrack
-Decent story (after finishing the first character, Cadence)
-Great gameplay
-Isn't a game you will beat in a week or two
-5 different soundtracks
-Support for custom music
-Mod support (texture mods and music replacements)
-Level editor (You need to beat the game with one character first)

That all may sound great, but this game is NOT for everyone! This game requires a lot of patience and practice. It's fairly straight forward to play, but extremely hard to master. The game requires you to beat each zone (individually at least) without missing a beat of the song and perfect movements. If you cannot keep tempo/rhythm, this will not be a game for you. The game heavily relies on you to be able to keep up with fast tempos. If you can't do that, this game may not be for you! This game, however could be good for you if you do want to practice keeping tempo.

I would rate this game 9/10 for being ridiculously fun, but a bit infuriating when trying to beat the game with a harder character (like Aria or the monk)