An ingenious portrayal of self discovery and improvement of self esteem, Celeste mountain playfully tags along and lampshades its tropes of a magical place shaping itself according to one's psychological state and as such it doesn't end up feeling awfully deep, but does have a lot of heart in the right places, just like the similar narrative about a location for reflection, but also isolation and emotional damage if not dealt with correctly in the third Pokémon movie.

Madeline's anxiety problems are expertly integrated in the gameplay. It's not something so powerful that outright kills her and that's why there's infinite lives, but if the players choose to stop playing, they are resorting to the same defeatist tactics as their characther, giving up in the way to prove their own determination (kind of similar to how side characthers in Dark Souls become hollow after losing their hopes). Having the initially nihilistic "Part of Me" follow the same steps as the player as it closes in during the second level also shows that stalling too long in one's approach to these mental health issues may cause problems to get out of that mindset. During a boss fight against this "Goth Madeline" later on, it's important to be on the same point of the screen as her: something as simple as the "don't scroll too far down the screen or you die" trope found in so many games has a new meaning now because in order to confront your own insecurities you have to comprehend it from the exterior layers before venturing deeper inside.

The game may make fun of itself at times but the feather scene in the gondola is a beautiful moment where the player gets to adjust the rythm of the protagonist' breathing in the verge of collapse, which makes it one of these simple, emotional puzzles which have a broader importance to the players' own real solving assets regarding a probable, difficult self preserving situation they may find themselves in, not like that piece of crap Layton game where the puzzles are just escapism for when you are bored, or a difficult game (yes, I found the base game very easy, this is no Dark Souls) just for someone to find challenge because they need to indulge in a sport that doesn't bring anything healthy to their lives. You want something difficult that's worth it? Go and grind 💪

The characthers are very simple, even if the game is really sincere in how they are portrayed... for the most part. I am a bit torn regarding the hotel manager, whose backstory about needing to let go his beloved occupation is touching, but the game does throw in the need to make his agression a FUN boss battle, which feels extremely disrespecful and unecessary because there's no hint of that fascet of him before it happens. It just works to victimize the protagonist because she is not able to help others.

The rest of the cast has interesting interactions, even if they are pretty clichéd (the old mysterious lady and the Part of Me). The best characther apart from the protagonist is Theo, who may at first come as a bit of a jerkass but his obssession with being an influencer and feeling lost in life despite so many "eyes" watching him, is heartwarmingly displayed on the campfire scene from the start of level 6 in a natural conversation with Madeline, who also opens up to the guy. I didn't grab all the collectables however, and all about her own past is to me a it unclear: the scene where she answers a phone at the end of level 2 shows a guy, maybe her boyfriend, but narratively, it doesn't come up again in the main story. I may need to watch about that in Youtube to get the full picture, maybe it has something to do with those cassettes.

All in all, it's a charming little game that expects you to have patience just as the characther to overcome the challenges so that there can be an exploration regarding the hostility to oneself, to and from the world, in a way where, if difficulty is there to be found, is the same the protagonist is feeling in her arduous journey.

Thanks Josep for recommending the game!