What is Celeste?

Released at the start of 2018, Celeste was developed by Maddy Makes Games (now Extremely OK Games). It's a simple-on-the-surface platformer, with only 3 main movement options (jump, dash, and climb) for hundreds of increasingly complex screens to progress though. Check out its Steam and Itch.io pages below!

What's it about?

In Celeste, you play as Madeline, a budding mountain climber who aims for the peak. Throughout the story, the game touches on various themes and topics that aren't typically seen in platformers, such as self-doubt and mental health, yet they meld together with the gameplay in such a way that I believe provides an elevated experience to the player.

That is to say, there is a heavy emphasis on personal growth present throughout; if you think you can do something, you can: the game challenges you to think not in "ifs", but "whens".

The Modding Scene

Celeste's seemingly limitless difficulty ceiling opened the door for the most batshit and creative people in the world to get into game development. Even in 2024, 6 years after the game's original release, the community's modding scene is still going strong.

With collabs like Strawberry Jam, it becomes more than viable to view Celeste as a sandbox for creative potential. There is an immense amount of content out there (on Gamebanana and the Celeste Discord, at least) for players of all skill levels, so if you play on PC, I highly recommend giving the Everest mod loader a download, and seeing what experiences are on offer. Good luck!
Recommendations:

• Strawberry Jam Collab [x] • Monika's D-Sides [x] • Expert Contest [x] • Anarchy Collab • [x]

• The 2024 Secret Santa Collab [x] • Darkmoon Ruins [x] •

Special Mention - Strawberry Jam Collab

One of the greatest contributors to my love for Celeste is the Strawberry Jam mod. It is a collection of over 100 custom maps, all ranging from beginner to grandmaster (and onwards) levels of difficulty. No matter your experience with the base game, there's going to be something for you here.

It's taken me years of learning to slowly progress through the mod, and with every new achievement I grow ever fonder of it. If you have any interest in modding the base game at all, I wholeheartedly cannot recommend SJ enough. Celeste....2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Download here!