Celeste is a video game platformer in which you play as Madeline, a young backpacker going on her first adventure. Madeline starts off as a shy, short tempered character, whom we slowly discover suffers from anxiety and depression, as she opens up to an other voyager she meets on the way called Theo. Madeline has come to Celeste Mountain to try and overcome her inner demons, and to prove to herself that she can surpass herself. But soon, starts to appear a dark version of herself named "Part of You": a personification of Madeline's own anxieties and insecurities.
Madeline initially tries to fight off this alter ego, for the first five chapters (the main story is divided into eight of them, as well as a ninth bonus one which happens a year after the climb). Eventually, she comes to terms with the fact that she has to learn to accept this part of her and work alongside it to climb the mountain. In terms of gameplay, Celeste starts off as being extremely daunting as you tend to die a few hundred times in just one level. However, even though the game never gives you any sort of tutorial, the mechanics allow you to intuitively learn along the way whilst keeping the levels frustrating enough to have you invested in improving yourself. Both in terms of the story and the game, it is therefore a game about self-doubt, acceptance and growth. It therefore perfectly fits into Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey story arch, making its metaphorical psychological elements more literal.
1) ORDINARY WORLD
As with a lot of video games, there is no set up at the beginning of the story: the game starts at the bottom of the mountain, which allows the player to feel just as taken aback as Madeline. However, we get a few references to Madeline's life back home throughout the game. One early example, in Chapter 2, is when she calls her mother on a payphone. During this conversation, we find out that Madeline's family is quite accustomed to helping her through her panic attacks, as she is told to focus on her breathing. We thus get a glimpse into her life back home, and her relatively supportive family.
2) THE CALL FOR ADVENTURE
Just like the previous stage, this is less linked to a specific event, but rather referred to throughout the game. Madeline is climbing Celeste Mountain in order to develop as a person and to prove to herself that she can do it. The challenge for Madeline isn't something concrete, but rather to overcome her inner demons (metaphorically materialised by the mountain climb).
3) REFUSAL OF THE CALL
In the prologue, which serves to show the player Madeline's Climb and Dash techniques, an icy ridge collapses and nearly falls on Madeline as she has just begun her journey. This immediate near-death experience makes her doubt whether or not this expedition is a good idea.
4) MEETING THEE MENTOR
Just after the previous experience, Madeline arrives at a cottage where she meets an Old Woman, who tells her that the trail up Celeste Mountain is up ahead. Madeline then warns the woman about the collapsed ridge which nearly killed her, but instead of being concerned, the woman laughs and warns her that climbing Celeste Mountain will be difficult for Madeline if that was able to scare her. This annoys Madeline, but also makes her more determined to actually climb the mountain.
5) CROSSING THE THRESHOLD
In order to start her journey up Celeste Mountain, Madeline has to get past a collapsing bridge. This is the moment where she discovers her Dash technique (which recharges when she touches the ground), as she nearly falls to her own death.
6) TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES
In Celeste, each level could be seen as a different test: the player discovers new mechanics, Madeline develops as a character and the story progresses. There is no training period or tutorial, but rather exponential growth throughout the game.
Madeline meets a few allies, but mainly Theo, another adventurer whose demons are more to do with the perception of others and social media. Theo and Madeline help each other out ondifferent occasions. For example, in Chapter 4, Theo teaches Madeline a coping mechanism as they're trapped in a gondola over a ravine, which consists of imagining a feather floating up and down to her breathing. This allows Madeline to get through her panic attack and to reach the other side of the ravine. In Chapter 5, Madeline helps Theo in return in the Mirror Temple. Theo has fallen down and can't get up, trapped in a crystal and overwhelmed by the effects the temple has on him. For the last part of the level, Madeline helps him get out of the temple so that he can continue his journey. After this, Theo and Madeline sit by a campfire and open up about their issues: we can thus see that they cooperate in order to give each other motivation to go on.
The main enemy, on the other hand, is the "Part of You" which first appears in a dream Madeline has in Chapter 2 and then in real life in Chapter 3, where she lashes out at an old man named Mr. Oshiro who has lost his mind and obsesses over his abandoned hotel. In Chapter 5, she tells Madeline she doesn't deserve to climb up Celeste Mountain and that she is too weak - Madeline tells her to go away, and works with Theo to progress instead.
6) APPROACH OF THE INMOST CAVE
At the beginning of Chapter 6, after her conversation with Theo, Madeline has a dream in which she is floating as a feather. When she flies all the way to the sky, the "Part of You" appears and Madeline tells her she doesn't need her anymore. However, this infuriates the part of her, who thinks Madeline believes she's above her. This sends the part of her in a rage, throwing Madeline down a cave, all the way to the bottom of the mountain.
7) ORDEAL
Madeline is now desperate, having lost all her progress, and starts to believe everything the part of her has been telling her about how she is incapable of climbing the mountain. As she is about to give up, Madeline meets the Old Woman again, who tells her that, even though a lot of young people give up climbing Celeste Mountain, she is surprised Madeline would do so too: "Honestly, I thought you'd reach the summit just to spite yourself." She then suggests she tries to find the part of herself to figure out what scares her so much, so that they can work together to get back to where they fell from. She also tells Madeline that there is no shame in giving up, and that she can always try again later on. This gives Madeline the boost to pick herself back up. What follows is a sort of fight scene, where Madeline keeps trying to approach the part of her, but keeps getting pushed away. This confrontation ends with Madeline comforting the part of her and them fusing together, unlocking Madeline's second Dash, which allows them to get out of the ravine.
9) SEIZING THE SWORD, REWARD
Now that Madeline has resolved the conflict with the "Part of You", the two have combined their powers. This allows you to complete Chapter 7, reach the summit of the mountain and Madeline to reconcile with herself.
10) THE ROAD BACK
In Celeste, the road back is more peaceful than in the typical Hero's Journey story and takes place as cut scenes during the credits, as opposed to actual gameplay. We see Madeline and the part of her revisit each level, eventually getting back to the (now rebuilt) bridge from the beginning of the game. In the Epilogue, Madeline, the "Part of You", Theo, the Old Woman and Mr. Oshiro share a strawberry pie together, made from the collectable strawberries you find throughout the game.
11) RESURRECTION
A year later, Madeline returns to Celeste Mountain to visit a cave the Old Woman told her about on the phone. Madeline has now grown and learned to accept herself ; however, she is disappointed to see that the part of her hasn't reappeared once she enters the mountain. The Old Woman comforts her, telling her that it probably means that time has allowed them to truly fuse. The chapter which ensues is the hardest in the main game as the power of the cave restrains Madeline's Dash technique to no longer recharge when she touches the ground. In the end, Madeline reaches the heart of the mountain, or the Core: "...this is it? This is what is at the center of all of this? It's so empty... and vast... Yet it feels nostalgic somehow. And peaceful." Madeline now understands herself, as well as the powers of the mountain.
12) RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR
Celeste teaches you to slowly work on yourself, rather than suppressing how you feel. For Madeline, the elixir isn't something physical, but spiritual. With newfound serenity, both her and the player have learned to accept themselves and to cherish growth, rather than anger.
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