The Best Game of January 2018: Celeste
Read the Review!
Reviews Editor Zhiqing Wan: Celeste is brutal, and it doesn’t hold back. The game challenges players with intricately designed levels and you’ll need to give it your full attention if you’re to have any hopes of making progress. Despite that, Celeste is also the warmest and most welcoming precision platformer we’ve ever played. The world design and 2D art are gorgeous in a timeless kind of way, the music is repetitive but catchy, it’s calming and it makes an effort to keep you breathing properly. Literally. It’s Super Meat Boy without the metallic soundtrack that can get abrasive and grating over time.
Developer Matt Makes Games also provides a very well-implemented Assist Mode for players who might not be as skilled at platformers, allowing you to adjust the game’s difficulty however you want it. You can change the speed, adjust your invincibility and the number of air dashes you can do, and it’s accessible to basically everyone. But the story is the real reason why you should give Celeste a go. Though the premise is rather simple, there are no words to describe how uplifting and feel-good it is. Celeste’s protagonist, Madeline, struggles to make peace with her demons as she climbs the mystical mountain, and the dialogue is so well-written and relatable for anyone who’s ever had to deal with bouts of anxiety or panic attacks. Celeste doesn’t make light of these issues, but presents them in a somewhat stylized but authentic manner that makes you care for the story and its characters.
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That does it for our January 2018 Game of the Month. Congratulations to Celeste! What do you think were the best games from last month? Let us know in the comments.