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Celeste | Reviews Thread

DonF

DonF

Member
This game has been getting very good reviews, so I took the liberty to make the review thread!
From Matt makes games, the famed developer of the Ouya classic TowerFall, comes this awesome platformer, mix of super meat boy and fruits.

Initial release date: January 25, 2018
Publisher: Matt Makes Games
Genre: Platform game
Developers: Matt Makes Games, Matt Thorson, Noel Berry
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

OpenCritic 90 with 21 reviews (Jan 30)

Kotaku
I'll remember Celeste for a long time to come, thinking back on its mystical ruins and wind-swept peak. It's a joyous game brimming with hope and one of the best video game jumps ever.
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GameSpot
Celeste is a difficult, powerful, rewarding adventure.
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Ars Technica
Buy. Celeste is the first must-own single-player game of 2018.
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IGN
Celeste is a surprise masterpiece. Its 2D platforming is some of the best and toughest since Super Meat Boy, with levels that are as challenging to figure out as they are satisfying to complete.
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USgamer
Celeste is an exercise of excellence in the well-trodden platforming genre. It's the sort of game that makes you feel strong while playing it; if you can dash-jump through impossible holes between narrow icy spikes to climb that goddamn mountain, you can probably do anything.
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Destructoid
Everything this team set out to do they accomplished. If you have any love for indie games, you're about to fall head over heels. These people have created something very close to perfection.
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PC Gamer
An engaging, vibrant and challenging platformer that adds narrative to a genre often shy of it.
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Video Reviews






 
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jshackles

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I've never heard of this game before. The art looks great! I might have to check this out.
 
ehead

ehead

Member
I am getting this tomorrow, hopefully. I like the platforming mechanics of what I've seen so far. I've already played Super Meat Boy, and thought of just waiting for this game to have something similar on my Switch.
 
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DonF

DonF

Member
jshackles said:
I've never heard of this game before. The art looks great! I might have to check this out.
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Yeah, it looks great. I bet it plays great, towerfall played awesome, and it's getting great reviews! My only decision is getting it for the switch or PS4!
 
M

MindCollizion

Member
Saw the reviews for this and decided to pick it up despite being initially ambivalent about it. Having a good time so far, just an hour in.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
This game throws a lot of mechanics at you. If you're a Super Meat Boy fan, it's a must buy.
 
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TheSadRanger

TheSadRanger

Banned
Evil Carrot said:
I really enjoy this one, and it is similar to Super Meat Boy but actually better in my mind.
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As someone who got far into the Dark World in SMB, what would you say the comparison is in difficulty? I got near the end but ended up hitting a brick before I gave up. Would you say it's more or less difficult?
 
Evil Carrot

Evil Carrot

Has anyone seen Cloud?
TheSadRanger said:
As someone who got far into the Dark World in SMB, what would you say the comparison is in difficulty? I got near the end but ended up hitting a brick before I gave up. Would you say it's more or less difficult?
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I beat the main campaign of SMB on 360 when it first launched, if it went beyond that I wouldn't know. In comparison to SMB I would say the game is about as hard but in a different way. SMB was more simple to control and had a lot of pure challenge in the obstacles, where as this game seems to strike a different balance of having that plus more complex movements/things to factor. I would imagine most would find it similarly difficult, but the checkpoint system does help a lot in reducing frustration.

I myself am only up to chapter 4 but I've been really into it since this morning. Love the music, graphics are fun, gameplay is really strong, could do without the art design of the char portraits and plot stuff, but it's not too bad.
 
radewagon

radewagon

Member
I dunno. I'm not feeling it. Maybe it's because I read IGN's overly gushy review that most likely oversells the game's narrative depth. Maybe it's that I'm not a fan of the genre. I'm a huge fan of old school platformers, but it looks like this game (and other Super Meat Boy type games) have taken only the most annoying part of classic 2D scrollers and built entire games around them. Instant-deaths from falls, being crushed, spikes, and being crushed by spikes were always the worst parts in Mega Man and Castlevania games. I don't see myself wanting a whole game of just those things.

To each their own, though. It's nice to see a smaller title getting so much positive buzz from larger gaming sites.
 
Kotzen Ducha

Kotzen Ducha

Banned
The gameplay is great here.
Not only do the dash mechanic and the instant respawns works great for a game that is challenging without being punishing...

BUT THE LEVEL DESIGN!
It's so fantastic and the pull out EADTOYKO-style environmental mechanics that click almost instantly.
The rainbow goop. The moving arrow blocks. The jump clouds. The switch blocks.

I really hate the the bipolar anxiety depression storyline.
It bores me and feels like it's trying too hard. Probably doesn't help that I can't relate at all.

But the game itself? Divine. Add it to the list of badass 2D games with a dash mechanic.
-MMX
-Hyper Light Drifter
-Celeste
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
TheSadRanger said:
As someone who got far into the Dark World in SMB, what would you say the comparison is in difficulty? I got near the end but ended up hitting a brick before I gave up. Would you say it's more or less difficult?
Click to expand...
I've only played 3 levels but the difficulty is similar. this and 'the end is nigh' (also by meatboy dude) are hard as nails, but dying is kind of how you learn the levels. it gives you a death count at the end. The little story it has is very mysterious and quite nice, which really elevates it. I'm trying not to read any spoilers about it at all, because I think it will be a lot more fun to discover what the girl is up to. it's quite weird in the first 3 levels and outside of the pixel art game, the animations/menus and graphics are really really nice.

this game also features a 'dark world' it's called 'b-sides' here.

If you play the main game and don't go for strawberries it's not crazy hard, but I can't not go for the strawberries.
 
Davey Cakes

Davey Cakes

Member
I played through the first area and the game is already getting a thumbs up. It's like Meat Boy but a little more non-linear.

Back in the mid-2000s I played Jumper, Jumper 2, Flail, and An Untitled Story, and enjoyed them all. This feels like the perfect culmination of Matt's previous work, plus the additional developers. It's a worthy title. I'm glad I bought it to support it, and I'm already finding it well worth the purchase.
 
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Wunray

Wunray

Member
Just beat the second stage and I think we have another Ori and the blind forest here, which if I must say in my opinion the best Metroid vainia ever made. Also dialogue in this game is A+.
 
T

Theognosis

Member
What a game!!!! I have another masterpiece on the Switch that is fast becoming my favorite console of all time (it's hard for me to back to playing on the TV or even the PC). This, Dead Cells and Hollow Knight are going to make 2018 a great year for handheld gaming. I'm enjoying these excellent indies far more than I'm having with the so-called AAA titles since buying the Switch.

Job well done, devs!!!
 
Wunray

Wunray

Member
Wunray said:
Just beat the second stage and I think we have another Ori and the blind forest here, which if I must say in my opinion the best Metroid vainia ever made. Also dialogue in this game is A+.
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Ok so just a quick heads-up the hotel stage is straight garbage and a serious difficulty spike.
 
trugs

trugs

Neo Member
Great game. Really great mechanics and a nice storyline. I'm at around Chapter 7, and the level design is getting a little tedious. I go through areas which are quite difficult, and I was expecting I was going through a secret exit/area. Turns out it was the normal path, which is pretty ridiculous. I'm not really a fan of "try again" games (like Super Meat Boy), but Celeste has me hooked regardless.
 
Zeblatoul

Zeblatoul

Neophyte
Can't wait to try this for my Switch. Loved Matt Thorson's older games like Jumper series & Flail. This seems like a spiritual successor to these hardcore platformers I used to love and hate :)
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
Played some more and damn its outstanding. Im up to the hotel which is quite hard and there is a really nice hidden thing here.

pico-8 bit game that you find is really really cool
 
ilfait

ilfait

Member
Hating the writing so far, but it's not a bad looking and sounding game, and I'm liking how it plays. Level layouts seem to make good use of the fun dash move.

I don't expect that in the end I'll like it as much as any of the classic platformers, but for an indie of the die/instant retry/repeat type, an hour-and-some in it seems well done. And I'd take it in an instant over Meat Boy.
 
Kotzen Ducha

Kotzen Ducha

Banned
The story and the writing is really bad. Feels aimed at depressed people 10 years younger than I am.
Though I did love the Oshiro stuff.

Just beat it.
7 Hours or so. 1200 deaths.
The last ascent was a blast. Reminded me of some of the vertical levels in MM games.

The story and shitty animu art really take away from it.
Would have preferred something minimalist like Hyper Light Drifter, but it's totally fine.

I had fun and will keep playing bonus content.
That says a lot about the quality of the controls and level design.

The graphics and style are just what they need to be. Simple so the platforming and hazards aren't confusing.
You know exactly what each thing is and the game is so fluid that it ends up looking nice.
 
L

Liquidator

Neo Member
Surprised this is the only thread for this game.

Are there any differences with Celeste (and 2D indies in general) between PS4 and Switch? Like is it a matter of 60 FPS vs. 30 FPS?
 
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Vawn

Vawn

Banned
This one went right over my head. I just finished it this morning, but I never figured out what everyone sees in it.

Maybe I just suck at this type of platformer, but the constant dying killed the pacing of the game for me. I never really felt in a groove.

When I would finally get past a screen, I didn't feel accomplished or relieved - just the feeling of preparing myself to die 4 or 6 times on the next screen.

I'm glad people liked it, and overall I wouldn't call it bad, but I really can't understand the perfect scores some reviewers gave it.
 
Crazyorloco

Crazyorloco

Member
Vawn said:
This one went right over my head. I just finished it this morning, but I never figured out what everyone sees in it.

Maybe I just suck at this type of platformer, but the constant dying killed the pacing of the game for me. I never really felt in a groove.

When I would finally get past a screen, I didn't feel accomplished or relieved - just the feeling of preparing myself to die 4 or 6 times on the next screen.

I'm glad people liked it, and overall I wouldn't call it bad, but I really can't understand the perfect scores some reviewers gave it.
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I think it’s the culmination of a nice looking game, great music, a puzzle on every screen, good story, and good controls. I can definitely understand why reviewers would give those scores.

What helped me was putting on assist mode. No shame for me. I don’t have the patience to die so many times. I didn’t want the game to be tooooo easy so I only put one option on Im assist mode. I put unlimited dashing on only and that made the game easier - there are some tricky spots still.
 
Dr. Claus

Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
Still waiting on a (hopeful) physical release for this title. Maybe Limited Run games or another publisher can do so.
 
Vawn

Vawn

Banned
Crazyorloco said:
What helped me was putting on assist mode. No shame for me. I don’t have the patience to die so many times. I didn’t want the game to be tooooo easy so I only put one option on Im assist mode. I put unlimited dashing on only and that made the game easier - there are some tricky spots still.
Click to expand...

I know it's illogical, but I can't. I get an unreasonable guilty feeling of lowering difficulty past normal. I've done it before and I'll either quit or, more likely, restart the game from the start on normal
 
R

Raph64

Member
My personal GOTY from last year. You need to give this game a chance trust me.

my personal GOTY because out of all the games like God of War and RDR2, this is the only game I got to play :messenger_loudly_crying:
 
ethomaz

ethomaz

Banned
Why a review thread today? The game was released last year.

Edit - OMG it is necro bump.

6c9ce562e4438126efad7c25c021c828e4a6c84e_1_625x500.jpg
 
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DonF

DonF

Member
Wow, I created the review thread cause I'm a huge Towerfall fan, the previous game from Matt Makes Games, and saw little attention for this game. Now, a year later, it was GOTY for lots of people, lots of nominations and praise. I'm happy. It's a great game.
 
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