Info about Celeste:

Official game description:
Help Madeline survive her inner demons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain, in this super-tight, hand-crafted platformer from the creators of multiplayer classic TowerFall.  
*   A narrative-driven, single-player adventure like mom used to make, with a charming cast of characters and a touching story of self-discovery  
*   A massive mountain teeming with 700+ screens of hardcore platforming challenges and devious secrets  
*   Brutal B-side chapters to unlock, built for only the bravest mountaineers  
*   IGF “Excellence in Audio” finalist, with over 2 hours of original music led by dazzling live piano and catchy synth beats  
*   Pie
The controls are simple and accessible - simply jump, air-dash, and climb - but with layers of expressive depth to master, where every death is a lesson. Lightning-fast respawns keep you climbing as you uncover the mysteries of the mountain and brave its many perils.  
_This is it, Madeline. Just breathe. You can do this._

Release date: Jan 25, 2018

Categories: 2D Platformer, Challenging Ascent Platformer, Speedrunning, Single-player Story, Mod Support

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: THE STUDENT; summary: The primary 'Wiki Tax' issue in Celeste is the need for external data to uncover hidden secrets (e.g., strawberries, blue hearts) and to overcome extremely difficult levels that require step-by-step guidance. Players feel the game's opaque design forces reliance on guides or wikis for full completion.
- Proton/Linux: score 35; verdict: Minor Tweaks Required; summary: Celeste on Linux has a known native lighting bug due to outdated SDL2, requiring workarounds like Vulkan (which may cause memory leaks) or switching to Proton (which can break controller inputs). Despite these issues, many users report a smooth experience with mod support and good performance. The game is playable but needs minor tweaks, consistent with a score in the 'Minor Tweaks' range.
- Steam Deck: score 55; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: Celeste is generally well-rated on Steam Deck with strong performance and battery life, but some users encounter Proton compatibility issues requiring version switching, occasional crashes and lag spikes, and minor controller precision concerns. Overall, it's playable after initial setup tweaks.

- Hardware Profile:
  - Summary: The game runs smoothly on most hardware configurations, with occasional crashes or stability issues reported on lower-end Windows systems, and a notable complaint of lag after alt-tabbing on Windows with 8-11GB VRAM.
  - Sample size: 478 (2% coverage)
  - Audience skew: Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
  - Windows <8GB VRAM / <16GB RAM (positive, 216 reports): Most players report smooth performance at 30fps, though some occasional crashes are noted.
  - Windows <8GB VRAM / 16-31GB RAM (positive, 64 reports): Players report great visuals and smooth gameplay without performance issues.
  - Windows 8-11GB VRAM (negative, 48 reports): A player reports instability and noticeable lag after alt-tabbing, along with controller issues.
  - Windows 12-15GB VRAM (positive, 41 reports): Player reports good performance and the ability to bypass the 60fps cap.
  - Linux / Proton unknown VRAM (positive, 20 reports): Works well on low-end Linux hardware, maintaining at least 30fps.
  - Windows 16GB+ VRAM (positive, 20 reports): Runs well with no performance issues.
  - Caveats: 478 of 23463 reviews expose hardware metadata.; Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews mention the full price of $20 and some consider it worth it, while one review compares it to Terraria at half the price, implying a fair base price around $10. The frequent discounts to $5 suggest that the $20 full price may be slightly high for some players, but positive reviews still endorse it. Thus, the community fair base-price range is between $10 and $20.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 35.0h
  - Story completion: 9.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: 10.0h
  - Reasoning: Story completion: multiple reviews indicate the main campaign (chapters 1-7) takes 8-10 hours, with ~9 hours as a typical midpoint. Game completion: reports of 100% completion range from 30 to 50 hours, with 30-40 hours being common for full completion (all berries, B/C sides, Farewell). Endgame: Farewell alone takes over 6 hours, and combined with C-sides and golden strawberries, typical endgame time is around 10-20 hours; 10 hours is a conservative estimate. Session length: no consistent explicit data is available; reviews mention variable play sessions but no typical duration, so left null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Celeste initially feels awkward or boring for some players, but after completing the first chapter and understanding the controls, the game becomes deeply addictive and rewarding.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: After completing chapter 1 and mastering basic controls
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: steep initial learning curve; awkward movement feel at first; tedious collectible hunting (hearts, strawberries); repetitive music for some players; difficulty spikes in later chapters (e.g., Chapter 3)
  - Unlock drivers: instant respawn removes frustration; smooth difficulty progression that matches player skill; new mechanics introduced per chapter to maintain interest; sense of visible improvement over time
  - Conditions: solo play (base game); patient and persistent mindset; willingness to learn through trial and error; mods (e.g., Strawberry Jam) extend fun for advanced players
- Player Archetypes:
  - Hardcore Masochist (buy)
    - Motivation: To conquer brutally difficult challenges and achieve full completion, gaining immense satisfaction from overcoming impossible sections.
    - Playstyle: Repeatedly attempts the same room hundreds of times, using precise pixel-perfect inputs, optimizing routes, and obsessively collecting every strawberry and golden berry. Often ignores the story in favor of gameplay.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: completionist; hardcore gamer; masochist; achievement hunter
    - Reference games: Super Meat Boy; I Wanna Be the Guy; The End Is Nigh
  - Story-Emotion Explorer (buy)
    - Motivation: To experience a heartfelt story about overcoming inner struggles and to connect emotionally with the protagonist's journey.
    - Playstyle: Plays at a relaxed pace, uses Assist Mode when needed, collects story-relevant items, absorbs the atmosphere and music, and focuses on completing the main narrative rather than optional hard content.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: story lover; casual gamer; fan of emotional narratives; accessibility user
    - Reference games: Undertale; Hollow Knight; Journey
  - Modding & Speed tech Artist (buy)
    - Motivation: To push mechanical limits, learn advanced techniques (wavedash, hyperdash), and explore endless custom content created by a passionate community.
    - Playstyle: Beats the base game, then dives into modded collabs (e.g., Strawberry Jam), practices speedrun tech on golden strawberries, and engages with the modding community on Discord. Plays on keyboard or controller with optimized bindings.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: speedrunner; mod enthusiast; tech player; community member
    - Reference games: Super Meat Boy; Dustforce; Kaizo Mario World


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Excellent gameplay and feel (weight 0.34): Multiple reviews praise the enjoyable movement mechanics, tight controls, responsive gameplay, and overall positive feel. Clusters 1, 2, 8, 17, 38, 45, and 70 highlight that the core mechanics are fun and well-crafted.
- Beautiful pixel art and visuals (weight 0.28): The pixel art style and visual presentation are highly appreciated for being beautiful, cute, and appealing. Clusters 9, 12, 20, 29, 31, 33, 58, and 69 note the nice aesthetics and art direction.
- Great music and soundtrack (weight 0.24): The game's music is widely praised as excellent, memorable, and chill. Clusters 10, 28, 30, 40, 56, 64, and 67 mention the amazing OST and great soundtrack.
- Good story and atmosphere (weight 0.23): The story is cool and the atmosphere is well-crafted, with metaphors relating to mental health. Clusters 3, 21, 34, 37, 72, and 75 mention the engaging narrative and rich environment.
- Excellent level design (weight 0.2): Levels are well-designed, clever, and demonstrate the creators' sincerity. Clusters 7, 28, 44, 73, and 74 highlight that most level design is great and fair.
- Challenging yet balanced difficulty (weight 0.15): Difficulty is described as reasonable, manageable with perseverance, and well-balanced. Clusters 25, 42, 43, and 73 mention that A-sides and B-sides are fun and fair.
- Varied platforming mechanics (weight 0.12): The game consistently introduces new mechanics in every stage, providing variety in platforming. Clusters 36, 46, and 59 note the many fun mechanics that keep gameplay fresh.
- Teaches patience and resilience (weight 0.11): The game changes impatient players to be patient and composed, celebrating deaths and learning from mistakes. Clusters 61, 62, and 63 describe how it provides a sense of accomplishment.
- Accessible assistance mode (weight 0.08): Assist mode helps low-skill players complete the main story without removing the challenge. Clusters 11 and 54 note the helpful accessibility features.
- Great C and B side levels (weight 0.08): C side levels and B side challenges are nice and fair. Clusters 19 and 43 praise these additional levels.
- Quick restart on death (weight 0.07): The very fast respawn and quick restart on death are initially cool features. Clusters 23 and 49 note the fast restart mechanism.
- Metaphors add depth (weight 0.07): Interesting metaphors like breath as feather and depression as ocean floor enrich the experience. Clusters 34 and 71 note the meaningful themes.
- Precision platformer with theme (weight 0.07): The game is a well-crafted precision platformer with mental health themes. Clusters 41 and 71 highlight its thematic integration.
- Good mod support (weight 0.04): Mod support via a dedicated launcher is mentioned. Cluster 55 notes the availability of mods.

Common complaints:
- Awful keyboard controls (weight 0.45): The keyboard controls are widely criticized as terrible, unintuitive, and awkward, making the game not fun to control. This is the most frequent complaint across clusters 1, 4, 12, and 19, with many players finding them the worst in a platformer.
- Assist mode feels like cheating (weight 0.21): Assist mode is seen as making the game too easy, undermining difficulty design, and creating an impossible dilemma where using it feels like cheating. Players are demotivated by this feature as it removes the challenge.
- Default controls are counter-intuitive (weight 0.12): The default controls are confusing and not comfortable, making it hard for players to adjust. This feedback highlights that even the initial control setup is poorly designed and adds to the frustration.
- Cannot bind mouse buttons to keyboard (weight 0.11): Players cannot map keyboard keys to mouse buttons, as mouse buttons are disabled as an option. This limits control customization and is a specific complaint about keybinding limitations.
- Frustrating difficulty and controls (weight 0.09): The game is too difficult and frustrating, with the difficulty stemming from poor controls. This combination makes the entire experience unenjoyable and overly challenging.
- Artificial difficulty from controls (weight 0.09): The controls are tedious and annoying, making the game unnecessarily difficult. This artificial difficulty means the challenge comes from the interface, not the gameplay.
- Cannot remap from arrow keys to WASD (weight 0.08): Players cannot properly remap controls from arrow keys to WASD, with one key binding to all movements and attacks. This lack of proper remapping is a specific limitation that affects gameplay.
- Difficulty spikes too high (weight 0.08): The difficulty increases too rapidly, with spikes that feel too high for the player's progression. This makes the game feel unbalanced and frustrating, especially when combined with control issues.
- Controls feel intentionally difficult (weight 0.08): Players feel that the controls are intentionally made difficult, as if to add artificial challenge. This is seen as a design flaw where the difficulty comes from the control scheme rather than gameplay.
- Game is very hard and not forgiving (weight 0.08): The game is very hard and not forgiving, with punishing gameplay that doesn't allow for mistakes. This contributes to the overall feeling of frustration and lack of fun.
- Repetitive gameplay with low payoff (weight 0.08): The gameplay feels repetitive with little payoff, meaning the effort put into playing does not feel rewarding. This is a general complaint about the game's loop being unengaging.
- Wavedash mechanic is frustrating (weight 0.08): The wavedash does not work as intended, making the mechanic frustrating to use. This is a specific gameplay element that is poorly implemented and adds to the overall control problems.
- Dash mechanic is buggy or broken (weight 0.08): The dash mechanic is described as buggy and broken, often not working correctly. This is a common complaint about a core movement ability that fails to function properly.
- Platforming is too difficult (weight 0.08): The platforming sections are too difficult, requiring a lot of effort to get through. This feedback points to the overall challenge being too high, especially in a game that should be about precise control.
- Story is cheap with poor dialogue (weight 0.07): The story is cheap and poorly integrated, with mediocre dialogue that doesn't engage players. The dialogue pacing is also poor, making the narrative feel underdeveloped.
- Story is not engaging (weight 0.07): The story is thin and not engaging, failing to capture player interest. This is a secondary complaint about the narrative being underdeveloped and uninteresting.
- Characters are super annoying (weight 0.07): The character voices and personalities are super annoying, making them unlikable. This is a specific complaint about the game's audio and character design being off-putting.

Gameplay feedback:
- Trial-and-error platforming (weight 0.23): Players repeatedly attempt sections due to high difficulty, requiring precise jumps and memorization. This is highlighted in Clusters 2, 6, and 19.
- Assist mode available (weight 0.23): An assist mode helps beginners reduce difficulty, as noted in Clusters 3, 4, and 57. It provides a gentler experience for less skilled players.
- Precision platforming with collectibles (weight 0.2): The game features optional collectibles like strawberries and cassette tapes, which serve as bragging rights and completionist appeal. These are mentioned in Cluster 1 and Cluster 35.
- Multiple level tiers (weight 0.14): The game includes A-sides, B-sides, and C-sides with increasing difficulty, as per Clusters 5 and 6. These offer extra challenges for skilled players.
- High difficulty with memorization (weight 0.12): The game relies on muscle memory and pattern recognition for precise platforming, as described in Clusters 7 and 19. Levels require repeated practice to master.
- Precise control requirements (weight 0.12): Players need precise inputs for movement like 8-direction jumps and dashes, as stated in Clusters 16, 20, and 59. This demands high accuracy.
- Obstacle variety (weight 0.11): The game uses moving obstacles like coal balls and disappearing platforms, as mentioned in Clusters 11, 13, and 14. These create dynamic challenges.
- Fast respawn system (weight 0.09): Quick respawns after death make the game addictive, as noted in Clusters 40 and 41. This encourages repeated attempts without frustration.
- Mechanic variety (weight 0.09): New gimmicks like feather, dash, and lift boost appear each level, as per Clusters 23 and 24. This keeps gameplay fresh.
- Masocore challenge (weight 0.08): The game is masocore with high difficulty and minimal margin for error, per Clusters 53 and 54. It targets hardcore players.
- Puzzle-like stages (weight 0.08): Each level has a single solution, making it a puzzle platformer, as in Cluster 9. This requires figuring out exact moves.
- Speedrun mechanics (weight 0.08): Wave dash and wall bounce enable speedrunning, as in Clusters 26 and 50. These mechanics optimize route efficiency.
- Momentum systems (weight 0.08): Floors and dashing affect momentum, as in Clusters 12 and 34. This adds physics-based challenge.
- Level design per chapter (weight 0.08): Chapters change mechanics, with fixed routes and sections, per Clusters 15 and 18. This structures progression.
- Lack of autosaves (weight 0.07): No mid-chase autosaves and rare saves are mentioned in Clusters 45 and 68. This increases punishment for failure.

Performance notes:
- Frequent start-up failures (weight 0.12): Multiple reports indicate the game fails to start, often stuck on the opening screen or showing a black screen, leading to an inability to play.
- Visual artifacts and glitches (weight 0.12): Black square artifacts appear during gameplay, along with black screen problems on startup, pointing to rendering or graphical corruption.
- Severe performance issues (weight 0.09): Frame rate is locked below 15 FPS, and there are stutters on modern hardware, making the game nearly unplayable due to poor optimization.
- Persistent crashes and errors (weight 0.09): The game crashes consistently, sometimes with error logs, which suggests a stability issue that causes abrupt termination.
- Steam Deck lag spikes (weight 0.05): On Steam Deck, lag spikes are reported, indicating specific compatibility problems with this platform beyond general performance issues.

Recommendations:
- Extreme difficulty for niche audience (weight 0.37): Multiple clusters indicate that Celeste is only recommended for players seeking extreme difficulty and precision platforming, not for casual or general audiences.
- Not for general audience (weight 0.28): Overall, the game is not recommended for a broad audience, with many saying to skip it unless the player is a dedicated fan of the genre.
- Not for casual players (weight 0.27): The game is consistently described as not suitable for casual players, with explicit warnings to avoid it unless they are hardcore platformer fans.
- Precision platformer focus required (weight 0.23): Feedback stresses that the game is only for those who love precision platformers and mechanical coordination, with many saying to stay away otherwise.
- Positive message and self-improvement (weight 0.15): The game is recommended for those who enjoy self-improvement challenges and a positive message, but only for skilled players.
- Poor controls criticized (weight 0.14): Some feedback blames difficulty on bad controls, especially for keyboard users, and suggests using a keyboard or avoiding the game.
- Better alternatives for time (weight 0.14): Several comments advise playing other games if time is limited, as Celeste requires significant investment and may not be worth it.
- Final chapter for speedrunners (weight 0.11): The final chapter is designed for speedrunners, not average players, and many recommend skipping it or note it as a negative point.
- Wait for sale discount (weight 0.11): Multiple points suggest buying only at a large discount (e.g., 75% off or $5), as the game is often on sale and not worth full price.
- Not for fun or enjoyment (weight 0.1): The game is not recommended for players who want to have fun, as it is described as suffering, frustrating, and repetitive for many.
- A-sides only for casuals (weight 0.09): Players recommend only playing the A-sides for a casual experience, while B-sides and C-sides are too hard for non-hardcore players.
- Keyboard issues and remapping (weight 0.08): Keyboard users face issues, and those who dislike remapping or are not used to certain keys are advised to avoid the game.
- Assist mode paradox (weight 0.05): Some feedback highlights a paradox with assist mode, where using it reduces enjoyment, and specific levels like flag 9 are overly frustrating.
- Refund if controls fail (weight 0.04): A recommendation is to buy and then refund if controls are not manageable, implying that many may find the game unplayable.
- Addictive but niche (weight 0.04): While some say addicts will love it, the game is clearly only for a specific subset of players who enjoy extreme challenges.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.38): Players expressed significant frustration stemming from poor keyboard controls, especially the inability to rebind keys and unresponsive diagonal inputs. This is compounded by extreme difficulty spikes, particularly in chapters 3 and 9, with the latter requiring precision wavedashing and dash mechanics that lead to repeated deaths. The punishing level design, sparse checkpoints, and inconsistent physics create a cycle of high effort with little enjoyment.
- Disappointment (weight 0.18): Many players felt disappointment due to the game's difficulty feeling artificial and stemming from janky controls rather than genuine challenge, along with a shallow story that lacked payoff. The high praise from reviews did not match the experience, which often devolved into repetitious tedium. The lack of color-blind mode and a balanced difficulty middle ground also contributed to unmet expectations.
- Boredom (weight 0.06): Players found the game boring due to repetitive and formulaic level design, especially in B-levels and later stages that rely on fixed key combinations. The gameplay loop feels monotonous with little variation or rewarding payoff, making the experience dull.
- Anger (weight 0.05): Anger was directed at the developers for adding unreasonable difficulty and what players perceived as intentionally harmful design, particularly in the final chapter. Issues with control rebinding, terrible keyboard and cloud jump controls, and an obstructive splash screen bound to the C key further fueled this emotion.
- Annoyance (weight 0.04): Players were annoyed by design choices such as forced backtracking for collectibles like strawberries, non-linear levels, and the restrictive 8-directional jump. Annoying characters, music loops, and frequent input registration failures causing repeated deaths also contributed to this feeling.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Positive experiences came from the early chapters, which offered smooth gameplay, a great soundtrack, and nice visuals. Players enjoyed the atmosphere and found the movement enjoyable, with the story and overall experience leaving a good impression.
- Disgust (weight 0.03): Disgust was triggered by the terrible control feel combined with ridiculous music, forced replayability for collectibles, and some levels feeling maliciously designed to trap players. The movement controls were so poor that they caused a genuine feeling of disgust.
- Confusion (weight 0.03): Players were confused by unclear game elements such as the story about anxiety and a shadow self, lack of direction, and unindicated optional computer modes. New players also found the dash redirection awkward, and the inability to remap keys added to the confusion.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.03): Satisfaction came from overcoming the game's punishing difficulty through perseverance, such as finishing A-sides and reaching the summit. Players felt a strong sense of accomplishment from becoming stronger and passing levels, leading them to still recommend the game.
- Guilt (weight 0.02): Guilt arose from a chapter that made players feel bad for not completing it, as well as from leaving a negative review despite recognizing the game's high quality and attributing the difficulty to personal skill limits.
- Relief (weight 0.02): Players felt relief rather than happiness when finishing extremely hard sections or finally clearing a difficult level, as the intense struggle made the completion feel more like an escape from frustration than a joyful victory.
- Contempt (weight 0.02): Contempt was directed at the positive reviewers and the fanbase, which players described as a cult-like group that uses the game as a symbol of self-importance, making the positive reviews feel like a scam.
- Boredom/disappointment (weight 0.02): Some players found the game not fun to play despite a reasonable difficulty level, citing bland gameplay and unoriginal graphics as the main reasons for this combined feeling of boredom and disappointment.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Appreciation was expressed for the first three chapters, which provided an enjoyable experience that stood in contrast to the later, more frustrating parts of the game.
- Gratitude (weight 0.01): Players were grateful for the inclusion of assist mode, which allowed them to continue playing when they would have otherwise quit. Others thanked the game for changing their mindset and teaching patience.
- Irritation (weight 0.01): Irritation was caused by the Enter key closing menus unexpectedly and general keyboard compatibility issues that disrupted the flow of gameplay.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy was found in the balanced challenge of the A-sides and the sense of accomplishment earned through repeated attempts and learning, making success feel rewarding.
- Rage (weight 0.01): Rage was specifically triggered by diagonal dashes failing to register on a gamepad, a critical control failure that led to many unfair deaths.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.01): A player felt that using assist mode actually made the game worse, diminishing the intended challenge and reducing the overall experience.
- Indifference (weight 0.01): Some players felt indifferent, describing the game as okay but not outstanding, without any strong positive or negative feelings.}