Let's climb the CELESTE mountain: Gameplay and First Impression

Hello and Welcome back to my blog!

This game was on my Wishlist for so long. I played the original Celeste made for a fantasy console Pico-8 and I loved that little game. Due to the console limitations, it was a small game but later the developers released it on PC and it is about time I play this.

Celeste is a precision platformer with beautiful pixel art graphics and a good story. Madeline, our playable character and protagonist in this story is on a quest to climb the Celeste Mountain.

As soon as I started the game, I loved the music. I knew the soundtracks were going to be lit in this one. The game introduces us to Madeline as she approaches the mountain's base. The interaction with the old lady at the start is funny and I can sense the game will have good humour and writing too.

In about half an hour, I completed chapter one, The Forsaken City, and recorded the gameplay, in case anyone was interested.

We were warned!

At the start of the chapter, the old lady warns us about the difficulty of climbing Celeste Mountain and laughs at our faces. There was a stone bridge that led to the base of the mountain and it started crumbling under our feet we almost fell but a mysterious crow showed us how to use a dash.

I love the fact that music picks up in intense moments like this one.

Learning the ropes!

The first chapter mainly teaches us the core gameplay and introduces us to a lot of moving platforms, spikes, breakable blocks, crystals that give you another dash etc.

I would say the first chapter was not difficult, but I can already sense the difficulty will go much higher as we climb the mountain.

One of the major differences I find in this one from the Pico-8 version of the game is the ability to cling onto the wall and climb. It also introduces stamina so you can't climb forever. I loved the way the game teaches us these mechanics.

Precise Jumps and timing!

Prepare to mess up your jumps and die a lot of times because the game can get challenging in some sections. Every jump and dash needs to be well calculated. But you can try again as there is no visible penalty for dying in a room. You will just be spawned back and can try again. And not like I am going for the no-death run...lol

Madeline can jump and then use a dash in mid-air but there are blue crystals which let you dash again if you pick them up.

One thing I am afraid of is the possibility of missing a lot of items. This chapter was branched and some rooms just contained collectable items like 'strawberry' or an NPC. And there are no maps or minimaps that I saw yet so it is easier to miss a lot of collectibles and rooms. This gives this game some extra replayability points but I prefer exploring all the things in the first run as I hardly play the game another time.

The chapter ended with Madeline reaching what looked like the base of the mountain. I am not sure where this mountain starts...lol. Well, I guess I was just in an abandoned city and this is where the actual ascend starts. A monument is placed as a memorial to all who died trying to climb the mountain.

The early signs are really positive and encouraging. I love the music, the way this game lets you explore the secrets on your own and the platforming challenges, all make it an interesting one for me. I am excited to see what the back story of Madeline is and what she will find on top of Celeste Mountain. Can't wait to play more!