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Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain

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Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain
Logo
Developer(s)Extremely OK Games
Publisher(s)Extremely OK Games
Platform(s)
Release
  • Linux, Windows
  • January 29, 2024
  • macOS
  • February 5, 2024
Genre(s)Adventure, platformer
Mode(s)Single-player

Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain is a 2024 3D platformer video game developed and published by Canadian indie studio Extremely OK Games for Linux, macOS and Microsoft Windows. The game was developed during a week long game jam, in which it released in celebration of the sixth anniversary of the 2018 video game Celeste. The game released January 29, 2024, acting as semi-sequel to that game and a continuation to its narrative.

The player controls Madeline, the protagonist from the first game, who has returned to Celeste Mountain in order to reunite with Badeline and contemplate overcoming a big step in her life. Many people who worked on Celeste returned for this game, including composer Lena Raine who released a new soundtrack for it. The choice to transform the Celeste formula into 3D gameplay came from investigating a Quake level editor. Fragments of the Mountain received positive reception, with critics praising the game for its difficulty and soundtrack, whilst criticising the game for its clunky keyboard controls.

Gameplay

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Madeline performing a mid-air dash before climbing up the side of a building

Celeste 64 is a short three-dimensional (3D) platform-adventure video game set upon a fictionalised Mount Celeste.[1] The player controls Madeline, the protagonist of the first game. She can run, jump, wall jump and climb walls,[2] which allows the player to avoid hazards such as pitfalls and spikes.[3][4] Additionally, she can utilise the ability to dash both on the ground and in mid-air, though only dash can be performed before needing to recharge by touching the ground. By dashing on the ground and then performing a jump, Madeline is able to perform a dash jump which is used to reach further distances.[5]

Gems can be found around the level that can enhance the dash ability in mid-air; green gems can refill the dash without needing to touch the ground.[6] Purple gems can give Madeline a second consecutive dash in mid air. A feather power-up can grant the ability to float for a short amount of time, in order to cross large gaps.[1][5] The game incorporates a timer, which incentivizes the player to speedrun the game on repeat playthroughs.[7]

Fragments of the Mountain features a low-polygonal art style, reminiscent to the 64-bit era of video games such as Super Mario 64.[8][9] Unlike the linear levels of Celeste, Fragments of the Mountain is set solely with an abandoned city which acts as an open world environment, which allows the player to move the camera 360 degrees. Checkpoint flags are scattered around the environment which can respawn the player upon death.[5] The game contains thirty strawberries for the player to collect, which are located across the environment, and in secret levels accessible via hidden cassette tapes.[10] These secret levels act as platforming-based challenges that helps the player adjust to the controls.[11]

Plot

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The game's protagonist, Madeline, makes a return to Celeste Mountain some time after the events of the first game. Upon arriving in the abandoned Forsaken City, she is greeted by Granny. Granny remarks about the book Madeline is writing, and questions her motivations for returning. Initially Madeline states she just wants to reminisce, but later reveals to Granny she is planning on making a "big step" in her life, which Granny reassures her about and recommends Madeline go speak with her "other Part of You" (Badeline).

Madeline later encounters her friend, Theo, atop a tall building. Theo mentions that he is back on the mountain to do photography for an art gallery. It is revealed by Theo that he set Madeline up with his sister, Alex, and are currently dating. Through further questioning, Theo discovers that Alex is mentioned in the book Madeline is currently writing.

Atop a floating island, Madeline reunites with Badeline, the physical representation of her own anxiety. Badeline questions why Madeline puts them both through so much hardship and change instead of just remaining happy as is. Madeline responds by stating she doesn't have to justify the things she does, adding that "at the end of the day, it feels right". She further asks Badeline to come back with her, affirming with her that she is allowed to be afraid, to which Badeline accepts.

Development and release

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The Celeste team at GDC 2018

Celeste 64 was developed by Canadian developer studio Extremely OK Games; comprising primarily of Madeline Thorson (Maddy Makes Games), Heidy Motta, Noel Berry, Amora Bettany, and Pedro Medeiros de Almeida (saint11), developers of the original Celeste.[a][13] The game was conceived to celebrate the original game's sixth anniversary, being developed during a week-long game jam;[14] previously Maddy Makes Games released the PICO-8 game Celeste Classic 2 for its third anniversary.[15] Celeste 64 was not the initial name for the project; Berry stated that he and the team initially viewed it as a "meme", but by the end the developers had "worked way too hard on it" for it to be considered one.[1][14]

In an interview with Game Developer, Celeste 64's art director Pedro Medeiros de Almeida spoke about how he was looking into the Quake level editor TrenchBroom when brainstorming ideas on what direction to take the anniversary project in. Once presenting it to the Celeste team, they decided to use it in combination with an engine designed by Berry. One challenge that arose during development was depth perception, which caused difficulty in presenting Madeline's location in a 3D space. To counteract the issue, the team experimented with a variety of shaders, fog and outlines until they were satisfied with an outcome.[14]

During the development, the tight deadline of the game jam and the limitations of TrenchBroom forced Medeiros to choose a lower polygon count and pixel density. He stated that the art style wasn't designed to "strictly emulat[e] the N64", but instead follow a more generic retro aesthetic. The choice of pixel art for the game's textures was intended to be "easy to tile" on the low poly geometry, in addition to having "a nice nostalgia".[14] The game's official soundtrack was composed by returning composer Lena Raine, who stated "every time I write more Celeste music I'm like 'surely this is the last right'".[1][16][17] Raine described the soundtrack as being inspired by both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, as well as using reinterpretations of the motifs featured in the original Celeste.[16][5]

The game was released on January 29, 2024 for free on the Maddy Makes Games Itch.io page, with versions available for Linux and Microsoft Windows.[18][19] The game was released with both controller and keyboard support; though the developers recommended players use the former due to the control scheme.[9][20] Concurrently, the game's source code was made freely available on GitHub.[18] Following the release of the game, the developers released a macOS version of the game on February 5.[21][22]

Reception

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Celeste 64 received positive reception from critics, who compared it to Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie and Spyro the Dragon.[1][23] Andrew King from TheGamer proclaimed Celeste 64 as a Game of the Year contender. King went on to praise the game for "[translating] the flawless platforming of Celeste" into becoming tougher by shifting the point of view from 2D to 3D.[24] Harvey Randall from PC Gamer described Fragments of the Mountain as being a "solid proof of concept", noting that the controls translated well from Celeste to a 3D collectathon.[7] Writing for Kotaku, John Walker praised the game for adapting the original Celeste gameplay and characters into 3D, calling it "an undiscovered secret version of Celeste from 1997".

Some publications highlighted the game's difficulty. According to GamesRadar+'s Ali Jones, Fragments of the Mountain's three-dimensional design increased the difficulty compared to the original Celeste, by allowing the game to have side goals involving more hazardous locations, which he claimed "[made] for a much more nerve-wracking experience". He additionally compared the game's camera controls to the "slippery" dynamics of early 3D games, stating they could take a while to adjust to.[1] Andrew King of TheGamer praised the game's challenging cassette tape levels, describing them as "gloriously difficult" and a tribute to the secret levels from Super Mario Sunshine.[6] Echoing the developers advise, other outlets encouraged players to play Fragments of the Mountain with a controller instead of a keyboard,[25] with writers describing the keyboard controls as being "clunky" and "fiddly" when trying to perform precise movements.[23][22]

The soundtrack for the game received positive reception. Writers from Polygon, Gigazine and Rock Paper Shotgun positively compared the game's main theme to the track for Dire Dire Docks from Super Mario 64,[4][5] with the latter describing the choice of instruments used in the soundtrack to be "on-point".[23]

Notes

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  1. ^ Additional team members include Kevin Regamey and Jeff Tangsoc of composition company Power Up Audio.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Jones, Ali (January 30, 2024). "The best modern 2D platformer gets an official N64 reimagining as Celeste meets Super Mario, and I promise I only rage-quit once". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Nelson, Will (January 30, 2024). "Beloved 9/10 Steam indie releases free game to celebrate birthday". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on April 17, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Holt, Kris (January 30, 2024). "Indie platformer Celeste gets a short, free 3D spinoff for its sixth anniversary". Engadget. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Diaz, Ana (January 30, 2024). "Celeste goes full Mario 64 in this free, bite-sized game". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e log1p_kr (January 31, 2024). "I tried the free game 'Celeste 64', which is a 3D version of the 2D mountain climbing action 'Celeste', and it was so interesting that I finished it all". Gigazine. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  6. ^ a b King, Andrew (February 4, 2024). "Celeste 64 Is A Tribute To The Original Game And Super Mario Sunshine". TheGamer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Randall, Harvey (January 30, 2024). "2018's best platformer now has an adorable Mario 64-style tribute made by the game's original dev team for its 6th anniversary—and it's completely free". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  8. ^ Scullion, Chris (January 30, 2024). "Indie gem Celeste gets a free N64-inspired 3D platformer to celebrate its sixth anniversary". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Williams, Hayley (January 29, 2024). "Celeste Team Releases Free Nintendo 64-Style Sequel". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Newell, Adam (January 30, 2024). "All 30 Strawberry locations in Celeste 64". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Morales, Greysun (February 2, 2024). "Celeste 64: How to Get All Strawberries (Strawberry Locations)". Game Rant. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  12. ^ Extremely OK Games (January 29, 2024). Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain (Windows/Linux). Celeste Team: Maddy Thorson, Noel Berry, Amora B., Pedro Medeiros, Lena Raine, Heidy Motta, and Kevin Regamey and Jeff Tangsoc of Power Up Audio
  13. ^ "Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain". Itch.io. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d Couture, Joel (April 25, 2024). "Making the berry sweet return to Celeste on its sixth anniversary". Game Developer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  15. ^ Bailey, Kat (January 29, 2024). "Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain Is a Bite-Sized (And Playable) 3D Sequel". IGN. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Nightingale, Ed (January 30, 2024). "Beloved platformer Celeste gets N64-style spin-off". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  17. ^ Enerio, Dane (January 30, 2024). "Celeste Gets Free 3D Platformer Spin-off Game to Celebrate 6th Anniversary". Game Rant. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Walker, John (January 30, 2024). "Indie Classic Celeste Just Got A Surprise (Kinda) Sequel". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  19. ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (January 30, 2024). "Celeste 64: Fragments Of The Mountain Is A Free 3D Platformer Celebrating The Game's 6th Anniversary". Game Informer. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  20. ^ Baker, Sammy (January 30, 2024). "Acclaimed Platformer Celeste Celebrates Sixth Anniversary with Free 3D Spin-Off". Push Square. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  21. ^ "Release v1.1.0". GitHub. February 5, 2024. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Yarwood, Jack (January 30, 2024). "Celeste Devs Release N64-Inspired 3D Platformer To Celebrate 6th Anniversary". Time Extension. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  23. ^ a b c Castle, Katherine (January 30, 2024). "Here's a free N64-style version of Celeste from Extremely OK Games". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  24. ^ King, Andrew (March 19, 2024). "Celeste 64 May Be Tiny But It Should Still Be A GOTY Contender". TheGamer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  25. ^ Phillips, Kara (January 30, 2024). "Celeste is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a free 3D platformer". TechRadar. Archived from the original on August 2, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
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