Celeste
Celeste throws you into the shoes of Madeline, a young girl who struggles to stay focused on her mission up a mountain due to her anxiety.
This difficult yet forgiving 2D platformer requires the player to pull off some pretty sweet maneuvers in order to traverse across what feels like dozens of stages. You’re going to die a lot but that’s okay. The game always brings you back to the start of the stage that you’re in, letting you try again immediately.
And when you do die, the game pushes you to try and try again. The developers made the game difficult on purpose in order for the player to get a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction upon progressing in the game. It’s a beautiful thing to have in a game like this – not surprising that it managed to get an honorable mention on our GOTY list.
