10 Times Gameplay Directly Informed The Narrative

Celeste is stunning in a number of ways, but no more than in its treatment of mental illness.

So many of us try to overcome our own struggles with mental illness, or perhaps not mental illness but just things we view as negative aspects of ourselves. Celeste treats these things instead not as something to overcome, but rather something that we should embrace.

Although treated at first as something of an antagonist, both Madeline and ourselves soon come to realise that Madeline's dark self is key to her overcoming Mt. Celeste and triumphing. It's not only a refreshing point of view to have on a topic such as this, but also a lesson that a lot of us could very well do with learning - and I very much include myself in that list.

We'd be here all day listing movies and TV shows that talk about coming to terms with mental illness and everyday struggles that feel as though they rule our lives sometimes, but none of those hit quite as hard as Celeste. Because finishing this game is a hell of a challenge, much like life sometimes, but afterwards you feel like you can do absolutely goddamn anything. And you can.