Celeste

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 495 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 364 out of 495
  2. Mixed: 47 out of 495
  3. Negative: 84 out of 495
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  1. Twistedretro
    Mar 18, 2018
    7
    I’ll give credit where credit is due- Celeste has a wonderful message behind it and the way it presents it is nothing short of memorable. The added features to decrease the difficulty are also a nice touch, especially since we are living in the “git gud” generation and the dev was under no obligation to help make this hellish sub genre a little more beginner friendly. Beyond this,I’ll give credit where credit is due- Celeste has a wonderful message behind it and the way it presents it is nothing short of memorable. The added features to decrease the difficulty are also a nice touch, especially since we are living in the “git gud” generation and the dev was under no obligation to help make this hellish sub genre a little more beginner friendly. Beyond this, however, Celeste is essentially just another difficulty fetish platformer in a market swamped in them. If you’ve played Super Meat Boy and its thousands of clones, you’ve kind of already played Celeste. Having not touched one since Meat Boy first came out, I wasn’t as burnt out on the genre and seeing it through to the end was worth it. For most, however, it’s just not something I can easily recommend at the $20 price tag. It’s a solid game, but by no means the 9 or 10 critics are giving it.… Expand
  2. curzon_dax
    Oct 2, 2018
    7
    Run, jump, air-jump, reset, repeat. It's a good game for its genre but its genre it relatively overdone lately and it's repetitive. If you are in for a platformer of the basic style with some modern touches here and there go for it but don't expect anything revolutionary or original or varying.
  3. SplitMind
    Jan 23, 2022
    5
    Celeste is one of many in a line of indie darlings that has received swathes of critical acclaim. I strongly disagree with the general perception of this game being so positive.

    The graphics are one of the finer points of Celeste. I am growing continually weary of the retro visuals approach but Celeste manages to evolve this slightly with some vibrant and trippy visuals, especially    Celeste is one of many in a line of indie darlings that has received swathes of critical acclaim. I strongly disagree with the general perception of this game being so positive.

    The graphics are one of the finer points of Celeste. I am growing continually weary of the retro visuals approach but Celeste manages to evolve this slightly with some vibrant and trippy visuals, especially later in the game. The graphics do an excellent job of creating the ambience intended. The biggest issue might be that combining it with gameplay makes it difficult when precision is needed for platforming.

    This segues me into discussing gameplay nicely. Celeste is a very difficult platforming game. This is my first red flag with all the critical acclaim - no way can that many reviewers be skilled enough to beat this game without the assist mode. I give the studio major kudos for having the assist mode but also take issue with the fact its existence is a must for me to access most of the game. The platforming for me just was not fun or challenging. When I finally succeeded I was bitter because I knew a lot of it was luck and that worse platforming was still to come.

    This is Celeste's biggest problem for me, as it becomes very one-dimensional very quickly. You are constantly platforming with very brief breaks for the story. It doesn't help that I'm not a huge fan of platformers in general, but games like Mario have shown us for decades how this genre can be navigated with more depth than Celeste.

    The story of Celeste is where I think a lot of the critical acclaim is biased by. On one hand it's quite nice and relevant to have mental illness feature prominently in a game. On the other hand, it has been done better elsewhere and at worst is outright pretentious and obnoxious. I can't care about Celeste's mental health when the punishing platforming is bad for my own sanity. We saw this same rubbish in Hellblade, another game positively-reviewed for the mentally-ill protagonist and not the actual game itself.

    As you can probably tell, Celeste was not a game I enjoyed. As I accuse reviewers of being biased I come from my own biased perspective as I have played so many pretentious indie darlings that it put Celeste at a disadvantage, however games do not exist in isolation and Celeste should have learned from its peers. This game I recommend for a very niche audience who enjoy punishing platforming, which I imagine to be much fewer than those who claim to have loved this.    … Expand
  4. Ryanm42
    Mar 5, 2019
    6
    More difficult than fun. I had a blast on the first level. Loved the story and the level was challenging but not frustratingly so. That changes from the boss battle of level 2 onward. I was continually frustrated with my deaths. You could die so easily and in so many ways. The game made me more angry rather than intrigued and challenged.
  5. mocochang
    Sep 6, 2020
    6
    As a platformer it's a fun game. The difficulty pretty fair, you die a bunch, but aside from a death count there isn't really any repercussions to dying other than having to try again from the beginning of that small area, so it's no big deal. Overall I was pleased with the difficulty level and had fun playing through this game, though it does get a bit boring at times.

    However, one of    As a platformer it's a fun game. The difficulty pretty fair, you die a bunch, but aside from a death count there isn't really any repercussions to dying other than having to try again from the beginning of that small area, so it's no big deal. Overall I was pleased with the difficulty level and had fun playing through this game, though it does get a bit boring at times.

    However, one of my issues with the game and the main reason I couldn't bring myself to give it a higher score is that I was not too impressed with the controllers. The mechanic of having to hold a button to hold on to the walls and manually move up and down (different than most platformers where you hold on to walls upon contact and slowly slide down) combined to a dash ability that didn't feel very precise (I found that the game was a little too sensitive in detecting dashes as a diagonal movement when you're actually trying to go straight) made me not love the flow of the movements in this game, and as a platformer that's a big deal. The movement mechanics were obviously a design choice, and I suppose it's purely going to depend of the opinion of the player, but, personally, while I wouldn't call it bad and I did get used to it fairly quickly, I also I didn't love it. The flow of the movements just didn't feel great for me.

    Another point that I didn't love was some of the visual design aspects of the levels. Sometimes things are not very visible or clear. For example, chapter 4 has some pink platforms in front of a pink background. I found myself more often than I would like to admit not noticing at first something that was right in front of my face and obviously made to be used (and I mean literally not seeing it at first). As this is not something I find myself experiencing on other games of the genre, I have to assume it's an issue I had with the design of this game in particular.

    And finally: the story. Not going to lie, I didn't like it. The dialogs, especially the ones with your "evil" self, are pretty cringy and felt pretty shallow. I understand what they were aiming for with the theme of overcoming depression and anxiety, and I have played other games that did a phenomenal job with this theme, but Celeste just wasn't one of them. Perhaps it was the characters and the dialogs, or perhaps it was that story felt out of place with the gameplay (probably both), but the story didn't really work for me and felt mostly cringy and something I wanted to skip.

    tl;dr: not one of my favorite platformers, and I probably won't be replaying it in the future, but I still had fun as a one time playthrough.    … Expand
  6. Elite_Soldier
    Sep 10, 2022
    5
    Dead...................................................................................
  7. trapallon10
    Jan 16, 2021
    6
    This is game is very repetitive. I'm not sure why it received so many great reviews, guess it is because of the story of a girl with mental issues. The story is ok (nothing near a masterpiece) and the gameplay relates to it, showing the importance of not giving up. But, the gameplay is very repetitive and there are milions of better games on the genre.

    If you love the platform genre,    This is game is very repetitive. I'm not sure why it received so many great reviews, guess it is because of the story of a girl with mental issues. The story is ok (nothing near a masterpiece) and the gameplay relates to it, showing the importance of not giving up. But, the gameplay is very repetitive and there are milions of better games on the genre.

    If you love the platform genre, you should try it.    … Expand
  8. agapokolo
    Feb 9, 2021
    7
    Celeste probably has the best platforming mechanics of any game ever made. Despite this, the whole game felt like a constant grind. Unfortunately, having great level design, and perfected jumping and dashing mechanics, doesn't automatically mean the game is a masterpiece. Completing each stage rarely rewards you with anything, which detriments the experience by a lot, as every level isCeleste probably has the best platforming mechanics of any game ever made. Despite this, the whole game felt like a constant grind. Unfortunately, having great level design, and perfected jumping and dashing mechanics, doesn't automatically mean the game is a masterpiece. Completing each stage rarely rewards you with anything, which detriments the experience by a lot, as every level is very challenging. Lastly, the story was mediocre and I found myself often skipping cutscenes out of boredom.… Expand
  9. TheVitruvianMan
    Jan 7, 2022
    7
    It's a somewhat fun game, but I do think it's overrated. The platforming is pretty tight and challenging at times, but there's not much of a fun factor. It does have a good message to the story, and some humorous dialogue at times, but overall, the game didn't grip me much and it was over quite quick. I'd recommend this for fans of platformers, but I'd wait for a sale.
  10. HydrophobikFish
    Jun 9, 2023
    6
    It can be fun for a time but ultimately the platforming failed to distinguish itself to me. I kept waiting for it to level up and reveal itseld to me but that moment never came. I guess it just wasn't for me.

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PS4 Game of 2018
35
#35 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. IBTimes UK
    Mar 19, 2018
    90
    Celeste is an beautiful, optimistic game about how triumph can outweigh any number of failures. It's about reconciling your pain, frustrations and defeats. It's about getting better, in every sense.
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  2. GameCrate
    Mar 14, 2018
    85
    Celeste is one of the most entertaining 2D platformers in recent years. It'll defeat you from time to time, but its inviting controls, level design, and presentation will keep you coming back until you persevere and overcome every challenge thrown your way.
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  3. New Game Network
    Feb 27, 2018
    80
    Celeste has a couple of hiccups in its aesthetics and tech, but the core of what Matt Thorson and his team have made contains a wonderful story of endurance and resilience for both the characters and the player, that begs not to be missed.
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