From a purely gameplay perspective, Celeste is an extremely well-thought-out and almost perfect game. Its responsiveness, difficulty and creativity are simply unmatched. The best games in the history of the precision-platformer genre can learn from it.
Unfortunately, I'm a aspiring writer and I approach a medium like games based on the following principle: 65% plot, world and narrative, 35% gameplay.
Celeste is a typical, "cool", modern quirky game about trans girl Madeline's depression, anxiety and self-acceptance. Its main themes and message are really beautiful - "remember about yourself and take care of yourself!", or "sometimes self-improvement is necessary in order to avoid hurting others."
Nevertheless, I think that the narrative of this game is quite shallow - the game uses trivial metaphors and does not explore such serious themes well enough, and it cannot hide behind minimalism like Journey. It's not bad per se, it's just simply overrated.
It does it story in most surface level self-help book way possible.
In some way, it's the result of the fact that I simply feel like I've outgrown such quirky games and since the release of Undertale, I've been starting to roll my eyes at the sight of them.
Regardless, it's still a game bordering on greatness. It's just missing that "something" to complete the whole picture in satisfying manner. And since its level-design is integral to the story and vice-versa, I think that a rating of 8.5/10 is fair enough in the perspective of not having this icing on the cake.
Unfortunately, I'm a aspiring writer and I approach a medium like games based on the following principle: 65% plot, world and narrative, 35% gameplay.
Celeste is a typical, "cool", modern quirky game about trans girl Madeline's depression, anxiety and self-acceptance. Its main themes and message are really beautiful - "remember about yourself and take care of yourself!", or "sometimes self-improvement is necessary in order to avoid hurting others."
Nevertheless, I think that the narrative of this game is quite shallow - the game uses trivial metaphors and does not explore such serious themes well enough, and it cannot hide behind minimalism like Journey. It's not bad per se, it's just simply overrated.
It does it story in most surface level self-help book way possible.
In some way, it's the result of the fact that I simply feel like I've outgrown such quirky games and since the release of Undertale, I've been starting to roll my eyes at the sight of them.
Regardless, it's still a game bordering on greatness. It's just missing that "something" to complete the whole picture in satisfying manner. And since its level-design is integral to the story and vice-versa, I think that a rating of 8.5/10 is fair enough in the perspective of not having this icing on the cake.