Celeste (video game)

Celeste
A vertical cover artwork. On the center-left is Badeline, a floating girl with long, purple hair, a purple jacket, black leggings, and red eyes. Near the bottom-left is Oshiro, a semi-transparent ghost with a green tint. He is in front of a gondola and is looking towards Madeline. Madeline, in the center, has red hair, a blue jacket, purple leggings, and a brown backpack. She is jumping, and her right arm is reaching towards a winged strawberry. In the center-right position is Theo, a bearded man with a green sweater. He is depicted on the other side of a mirror, with one hand touching the glass, and the other holding a smartphone. Below him is Granny, an elderly woman with green clothing and a cane, looking up at Madeline. At the top of the image is the game's logo, a blue-purple text reading "CELESTE" covered in snow, with a stylized mountain in the same color scheme directly above it.
Cover artwork, depicting (from left to right) Badeline, Oshiro, Madeline, Granny, and Theo
Developer(s)Maddy Makes Games[a]
Publisher(s)Maddy Makes Games
Director(s)Maddy Thorson[b]
Programmer(s)
  • Maddy Thorson
  • Noel Berry
Artist(s)
Writer(s)Maddy Thorson
Composer(s)Lena Raine
EngineMonoGame
Platform(s)
Release
  • Linux, macOS, NS, PS4, Windows
    • WW: January 25, 2018
  • Xbox One
    • WW: January 26, 2018
  • Stadia
    • WW: July 28, 2020
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Celeste is a 2018 platform game developed and published by indie studio Maddy Makes Games.[a] The player controls Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression who aims to climb Celeste Mountain. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including Part of You (also known as Badeline), a personification of her self-doubt who attempts to stop her from climbing the mountain.

Development of Celeste began in August 2015, when game developers Maddy Thorson[b] and Noel Berry participated in a game jam, where they created Celeste for the PICO-8. Thorson, who served as producer, and Berry, who served as the lead programmer, wanted to expand the PICO-8 game into a full release. Inspired in part by Thorson's own TowerFall (2013) and by Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), the gameplay was designed to be minimal, while mirroring Thorson's experiences with bouldering. Celeste was designed to be accessible, featuring game mechanics intended to make the game more forgiving in addition to an "Assist Mode" offering several options to make the game less challenging. The themes of self-forgiveness present in the narrative began with the idea of creating a "more introspective" game, and later grew to become intertwined with the gameplay. The soundtrack was composed by Lena Raine.

Celeste released on January 25, 2018, for Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows, before being released on Xbox One the following day, and on Google Stadia in July 2020. Upon release, it received praise from critics. Reviewers praised how the narrative complemented its gameplay, and movement and controls were lauded as among the best in any video game. Critics appreciated its approach to difficulty and accessibility. Reviewers lauded the story as a whole as easy to relate to or "touching", and the depictions of depression and anxiety were praised. The pixel art style was praised as well as its music, with reviewers appreciating how it complemented the gameplay.

Since its release, Celeste has garnered a dedicated fandom and an active speedrunning and modding community. On September 9, 2019, a free downloadable content (DLC) expansion named Farewell was released, introducing a new chapter to the game. The development team has stated that they do not intend to create a sequel for the main game. However, they have released a sequel to the original PICO-8 version, titled Celeste 2: Lani's Trek, as part of the game's third anniversary. Three years later, they released a short three-dimensional sequel to Celeste titled Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain.
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