Celeste

I'm the kind of person who plays a game for the story, not the difficulty. There's something that makes this game very special to me, and that's the Assist mode. I suck at most video games--it took me 91 hours to beat Hollow Knight, and I only finished it because of the immortality mod I added to the game. I turned on the Assist mode in Celeste, and not only beat the game, but had an incredible time doing so.
Another really awesome thing is the huge text in the game. I'm visually impaired, and I almost started crying when I saw how big the font in this game is--I can actually read it, without having to use my magnification program, or smashing my face up against the screen.

I was super skeptical about buying this game. I tend to not like super pixelated games (probably one of the reasons that I didn't like Dead Cells as much as I thought I would), games that are solely platformers turn me off, and I already had a few games on my mind at the time. I saw the glowing reviews, and after a few days of thinking, I bought it, ready to be disappointed. I fully intended to hate the game.
Yet here I am, with almost 70 hours on it*, several save files, and every achievement accessible at time of writing.
It's so easy to learn the mechanics of this game that after a chapter, it felt second nature. Gameplay is so smooth, and the learning curve feels natural. But don't underestimate Celeste's difficulty! Every challenge is harder than the last, and by the last screen, I was so relieved to have conquered this game.
Or, I would have, if Madeline's story hadn't been so fun(?) to follow.
Madeline, the player's character, feels like a real person, and one whose feelings, worries, and aspirations eventually become shared by the player. By the end of the game, I felt like I was leaving an old friend (I then started up a new save file and whoops back into the fray I go).
Also, I should mention the soundtrack. It's so, so incredible. Lena Raine, you have seriously blown me away with the music. Absolutely my favorite part of the game.
I even learned to love the pixelated art style in this game. What a masterpiece! Do yourself a favor and experience Celeste, and join me and so many others in completing the upcoming DLC, Chapter 9: Farewell. I have 100% confidence that it'll be a good one!**
Updates:
*Whoops now it's 80+.
**A great DLC that's in contention for the hardest challenge I've gotten through.

Unlike traditional hardcore platformers, Celeste approaches the player with kind encouragement through a perfect synergy of theme and design that beautifully mirrors its protagonist's inner journey.

Sum up
Positives
+ Magnificent level design, enjoyable during every second and full of surprises.
+ Challenging game that offers opportunities to develop your skills at your rate
+Assist mode for those that are leaning or want to enjoy the story without any pressure.
+ Knows how to make the most of all of its elements, from gameplay to story and sound design.
+ Inspires the player to replay the levels to get them to the last areas, which required to collect hearts to unlock.
Negatives
-It can be a bit of a trial and error game at times.
- Some levels can be very hard to beat, requiring absolute precision.
-The story overall can be touching and be a good journey, but it has some poor choices in dialogues.
Introduction
Celeste is a platformer game that has some rogue-like air about it. The game is simple to learn, and it introduces the player to mechanics as they keep playing them. Keeping things interesting while gradually raising the difficulty, it makes for one of the best games in this genre and a game that has almost literally no flaws. Every element has been taken care of with the utmost cared (save for a few minor details) and it addresses the difficulty innovatively.
Gameplay
The gameplay is that of a platformer but with a good amount of twist to it. You control Madeline and must go through levels to advance to reach the end goal, the mountain. In levels, you can expect to climb-jump of walls, dash to reach long distances, solve puzzles, deal with hazardous danger, explore secrets and discover more about its mechanics.
One of the things Celeste does very well is to address the barrier that comes to the player in the form of difficulty. Sometimes players don't get into games because if it is too hard, is not fun and if you cheat, is boring. This is done thanks to assisting mode, which makes it so that the player can control some aspects of the game without making them feel particularly bad. This serves as training wheels so that the player can depend on them until they can beat levels without it.
Rather than cutting off mechanics or other elements of the game, assist mode gives advantages of the type such as more dashes, being invincible, stopping time to calculate your direction before a dash and other stuff. The developer wants people to finish the game feeling good, that they accomplished something and to enjoy its overall message of not giving up. That is not to say that the assist mode is bad. It is something to rely on should you need it, no one starts being a master and everyone is different.
Be proud of your death count, it shows how much you've learned!
As for the levels themselves, they are each colorful bit that works like an intricated maze. There are secret rooms with collectibles to discover and a lot of well, platforming. Celeste makes the game simple enough at first, but the last levels will require a good degree of skill. In this design that follows a mountain-like shape of getting harsher to climb every time, it presents players with a challenge. To see who good they can get at the game and enjoy the learning experience.
The player can expect to die quite a lot in this game, however, the deaths itself are not too punishing. Respawning them at checkpoints and allowing them another try without interrupting gameplay. There are various elements, from lava to shadows that appear when you last touched a platform or winds that can push you back. These elements will add something of a unique approach to their corresponding levels and change how the player moves through them.
The controls are simple and have no lag in the action, giving you full control of Madeline. Often you might think about how to approach a situation before jumping it or reacting to unexpected elements. While the game itself doesn't present bosses in the traditional senses, some segments are confrontations and involve beating other characters. These are a joy to play as they have their way of being deal with and make up for moments of high precision and reaction.
Story
The story in Celeste is pretty and nice. It entails Madeline wanting to climb this mountain and working towards that goal. Dealing with elements such as self-doubt, but also of not giving up and facing challenges up ahead. The cast is colorful, and their voices are made in the style of games like Banjo-Kazooie, with sounds. This makes for a more vibrant and delightful experience of the story. To witness the full story, players will have to beat mirror levels and collect all hearts. I recommend players to go for this on the second run of levels, and simply have fun during their first time.
What Makes It Special
What makes Celeste special is that all its elements are impeccable, from it's gameplay to the visual or overall story. The sound design is excellent, featuring a good number of tracks to listen to during the levels while it's visuals are beautiful pixel art that has been done with a lot of care. I would say that Celeste can be an artistic game just because of how well these aspects have done in representing the game despite the focus being its message and gameplay.
It is also special because of assist mode. The game is challenging and can become a huge wall at times, but there is no shame in needing help. The developers recommend you play it without assist mode during your first run (as the mirrors levels and last segments can become gruesome) but they understand that all players are different. This is wonderful because the player doesn't have to fear the possibility of getting stuck or frustrated if they cannot beat a level. It also allows the player to discover the trajectory they could probably take when playing the level without assist mode.
Conclusion
Celeste is one of the best games in this genre out there and that is not an exaggeration. It is a game that is hard for me to find flaws in it and that I thoroughly enjoyed. This is a must-buy for sure if you like these types of games and if you are not a fan of difficult games or platformers, you should still consider adding it to your collection. It is a very special and unique experience that most certainly you would enjoy. Its price on sale is an absolute steal and is among the most wonderful titles I had played ever.
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This is not a rage game. I know it might sound like one, from all the descriptions of how hard and brutal it is, but it's really not a rage game. Yes, it's challenging, but the game itself tells you that you can do it. Playing this game, I never felt like it was impossible. The controls and collision are really tight, so you can always control your character. This means that when you die (and you will die), it's not because the game was too hard, the controls aren't good, or something about the game went wrong. It means that you need to get better, and you will get better.
This is the story of a girl climbing a mountain, and her greatest enemy is herself. And it's the same for the player. When you play this game, you are the one responsible for each death, and you will eventually conquer the mountain, and believe me, the view is amazing.
Oh, but if it's really just too much for you, feel free to enable Assist Mode, which allows you to make it as easy as you want.

Celeste is an extremely challenging platformer that requires perfect timing. It has beautiful pixel art and very charming characters. It is a game about anxiety, Knowing you can overcome anything.
The game is about Madeline, A woman who against all warnings is destined to climb mount Celeste, On top of the insane challenge the mountain offers she also suffers from panic attacks, anxiety and insecurity, These bad parts of her are portrayed as an alter ego, Badeline. Who eventually escapes from Madeline and tries to stop Madeline verbally by talking in on her insecurity. Eventually Badeline tries to stop Madeline by physically hunting her, But how do you win a fight against yourself?
The game is a heavy emotional experience about anxiety and it depicts panic attacks really well. It shows that anyone can overcome anything with determination. But it also shows how easy it is to give up. Overcoming your inner demons and know that you grow stronger from your experiences, good or bad. You meet a few interesting characters who all have their problems, And the good person Madeline is she wants to help everyone. Can you overcome your fears and become the best you you can be?
The gameplay is pretty simple, It is a hardcore platformer, You can jump, dash mid air and climb for a short period of time. Your dash and climb reset every time you hit the ground, change screen or by several other ways. This mechanic allows you to get to strange places which is fully encouraged by the game. Finding all the secrets require you to abuse every mechanic in the game.
The game is extremely hard, It starts easy, But it gets a lot harder pretty fast, It is easy to die a few thousand times just reaching the top of the mountain. Which is only 8 levels, But reaching the top of the mountain is just the beginning. There are more than 24 levels, You can just complete them, Or make it infinite times harder by going for all the collectables.
Strawberries are everywhere You have to catch them and land with your feet on the ground to let them register. There are a lot in every level, There is 1 Crystal Heart in every level, These are needed for unlocking levels end game. There is also a tape in every level which also unlock levels.
In the regular levels you can find B side tapes, And In the B levels you can find the C tapes. They get harder till the level of sadistic. It offers a real challenge that seems impossible, But just completing a screen gives so much satisfaction, It really shows you can do anything as long as you put your mind to it.
The game has Perfect controls, Really nothing to complain about, If you die, and you will die alot, It will be 100% your own fault, It is unforgiving, But there are no loading times between deaths, Which makes it easy to keep frustrating yourself. This is not a game for someone who expects an easy platformer. But I think it is a great game for anyone who wants to become better at video games.
It also has an Incredible soundtrack, There are hours of solid music which slightly change to mark progress and it perfectly knows how to enhance the emotional experience, The graphics are also amazing, I really like the graphic style, It is extremely cute, but scary at the same time, this combined with the god like difficulity level really makes this game a must have.
Overall, this game should be in anyones collection, And people who manage to complete it for the 100% can consider themselfs amoung the best of the world in platformers, I believe it is the best platformer on Steam. This game is an easy 10. No doubt about it.
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Steam Cloud Save
Working fine
Controller Support
Yes, Xbox One Bluetooth Working
Achievements
Just forget about it
FPS on Ultra
Locked to 60
Launch Command
gamemoderun %command%
Issues
None
OS
Arch Linux
Kernel
5.3.7
DE
Gnome 3.34.1
CPU
Intel I7-6800K @ 4.20Ghz
GPU
Nvidia Geforce GTX 1080 (Nvidia 435.21 Drivers)

I loved it so much I gave it away to three random strangers on the internet. It has a touching story and the most satisfying platforming puzzles I've ever encountered in a game.
Not for the faint of heart, the quick of temper, or the hurting of hands. You'll only finish this game with perseverance and you'll only complete it with immense patience. But it'll be worth it, if these are the kinds of challenges you enjoy.