FAKE RONJAN!!Great Video Game Levels #2: Celeste
Previously Featured Great Video Game Levels
#1: Rayman Legends
I have long adored throwback platformers like Super Meat Boy and Shovel Knight, even when they kick my butt:
There’s something unique about how those twitchy games test your ability to read and beat the designers, quickly and in the moment, that provides an incredible rush when you reach the goal or defeat the final boss.
Celeste is a stunning 2-D platformer that released earlier this year that takes on the mantle as the newest classic in this vein, and it is the odds-on favorite to end up as my top game of 2018. It has charming pixel art, simple yet deep controls, tight and challenging level design, an impressively heartfelt story, and a soundtrack I can’t get out of my head.
Celeste is also a game about climbing a mountain that isn’t really about climbing a mountain. Rather, it’s a story about a girl named Madeline, her defiant choice to climb Mount Celeste to overcome a rough patch in her life, and her internal struggles along the way. The adventure is long and varied - the game introduces new settings and mechanics the further up the mountain Madeline makes it.
During her adventure, she repeatedly runs into a man named Theo who helps her with her panic attacks, talks to her about life, and snaps selfies with her. Scenes with Theo can serve as serene and contemplative moments where Madeline opens up about her struggles with insecurity and depression.
Serving as a counterpoint to Theo is a physical manifestation of all of Madeline’s bad thoughts, doubts, and insecurities. Madeline first encounters her in a chase sequence within a dream, and she runs away.
The further up the mountain Madeline makes it, the more her struggle with herself escalates. Madeline continues to run away from her insecurities and leave them behind, telling her other half that she doesn’t need her. Eventually, near the summit, this backfires spectacularly and leads to a final confrontation.
Falling all the way back to the base of the mountain, Madeline finally acknowledges and deals with her bad feelings. She comes to the realization that she should not have been running from her problems and insecurities, but instead using them as motivation to give her strength. And there’s an adorable reconciliation that also serves as a “power-up”, giving Madeline a double-jump superpower as she reaches her true potential.
Madeline is whole, and the main story of the game is complete. Now, the player gets the reward - the chance for an incredible climb back to the summit as superpowered Madeline.
This final level is on par with the greatest gaming levels I’ve ever played. It’s a true “final exam”, taking you through familiar settings and mechanics with brand new challenges that test your gaming mettle. An energetic, encouraging music track pushes you to keep going, even when you have died hundreds of times, are feeling exhausted, and are considering giving up.
Finally, you reach the home stretch. The game starts counting down the checkpoints for you, your heart is pounding, and you make it. You reach the top and you feel the greatest gaming rush possible, the same rush that Madeline feels. And all you want to do is bask in the glory of your accomplishment forever.
Celeste is an incredible game, a true modern classic, one of the greatest 2-D platformers ever made. And its final gauntlet is one of the greatest video game levels ever designed. What a rush.
-rj