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Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain
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 of the Celeste Team returned for this game, including Celeste composer Lena Raine who released a new soundtrack for this game. 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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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. Madleline can run, jump, wall jump and climb walls,[2] skills useful for avoiding hazards such as pitfalls and spikes.[3][4] Madaline also has the ability to dash both on the ground and in mid-air in any direction, though you can only dash once in the air before needing to recharge the dash 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 Madeline's 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 Madeline to float for a short amount of time, in order to cross large gaps.[1][5] The game incorporates a timer, which can incentives 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 in 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 can 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. The strawberries are located across the abandoned city as well as secret levels that can be accessed by finding hidden cassette tapes across the level.[10] These secret levels act as platform challenges that help the players get hand on 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, as well as 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, to which Granny reassures her and recommends Madeline go speak with her "other Part of You" (Badeline).

Madeline later encounters her friend, Theo, atop a tall building. Theo mentions he's 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 and Pedro Medeiros de Almeida (saint11), developers of the original Celeste.[a][13] Celeste 64 was created to celebrate the original game's sixth anniversary and was developed during a week long game jam.[14] According to a tweet written by Berry, he discussed about how the project initially was just a "meme", but by the end the developers had "worked way too hard on it" for it to be considered one.[1] Previously Maddy Makes Games celebrated Celeste by releasing Celeste Classic 2, a semi-sequel created for the PICO-8 for Celeste's third anniversary.[15] 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]

Celeste 64 was not the initial name for the project. During the development, the tight deadline of the game jam forced Medeiros de Almeida to priorities speed when working on the game. This caused him to utilise a lower polygon count and pixel density when designing the game, as well as trying to make it fit well with the low poly maps of TrenchBroom. Medeiros de Almeida mentions that the game's art style wasn't "strictly emulating the N64 style", but instead just a simple retro aesthetic. The use of pixel art textures was used to be "easy to tile" on the low poly geometry, in addition to having "a nice nostalgia to them".[14] The game's official soundtrack was composed by returning composer Lena Raine, with the soundtrack later releasing on Bandcamp.[16][17] Raine has stated the soundtrack was inspired by both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, as well as using reinterpretations of the motifs featured in the original Celeste.[5][16] In a separate statement, Raine revealed it didn't take much to come back to Celeste, stating that "every time I write more Celeste music I'm like 'surely this is the last right'".[1]

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 features both controller and keyboard support, as well as Push Square stating that the game ran "outstandingly well" on Steam Deck.[20][21] The page also links to a Github repository, which hosts the game's source code.[18] Following the release of the game, the developers mentioned that a macOS version of the game would be released once that were assured the game featured no outstanding issues.[21] The macOS version was later released on the game's Github page on February 5 the following week.[22]

Reception

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Celeste 64 received positive reception from critics, with critics comparing it as a shorter version to the likes of 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, remarking it as "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 managed to match and increase the difficulty of the original Celeste by having collectables in hazardous locations, which he claimed "[made] for a much more nerve-wracking experience". Additionally, he noted that the game managed to replicate the "slippery" camera from the early 3D era of gaming which he said added an extra level of difficulty, though Jones added it took him a while to get to grips with the camera controls.[1] In another article by Andrew King, he wrote about how one of the best examples of difficulty in the game were the cassette tape levels, describing them as "gloriously difficult" and a tribute to the secret levels from Super Mario Sunshine.[6] One aspect of the difficulty writers had was that the keyboard controls were harder to use than than the controller, with TechRadar believing recommending playing with a controller to prevent the player's frustration.[25] The developers would later make recommendations for players to use controllers when playing.[9][21]

The soundtrack for the game had 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]

The game became popular among the speedrunning community, with Engadget reporting that a player managed to beat the game in over twenty-six minutes.[3] The game was subsequently featured in the 2024 edition of the Summer Games Done Quick charity event, with a speedrun trying to 100% complete the game.[26][27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Additional team members include Amora Bettany and 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+. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Nelson, Will (January 30, 2024). "Beloved 9/10 Steam indie releases free game to celebrate birthday". PCGamesN. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Holt, Kris (January 30, 2024). "Indie platformer Celeste gets a short, free 3D spinoff for its sixth anniversary". Engadget. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Diaz, Ana (January 30, 2024). "Celeste goes full Mario 64 in this free, bite-sized game". Polygon. 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. Retrieved August 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b King, Andrew (February 4, 2024). "Celeste 64 Is A Tribute To The Original Game And Super Mario Sunshine". TheGamer. 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. 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. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Williams, Hayley (January 29, 2024). "Celeste Team Releases Free Nintendo 64-Style Sequel". GameSpot. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Newell, Adam (January 30, 2024). "All 30 Strawberry locations in Celeste 64". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Morales, Greysun (February 2, 2024). "Celeste 64: How to Get All Strawberries (Strawberry Locations)". Game Rant. 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. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Couture, Joel (April 25, 2024). "Making the berry sweet return to Celeste on its sixth anniversary". Game Developer. 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. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Nightingale, Ed (January 30, 2024). "Beloved platformer Celeste gets N64-style spin-off". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  17. ^ Enerio, Dane (January 30, 2024). "Celeste Gets Free 3D Platformer Spin-off Game to Celebrate 6th Anniversary". Game Rant. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Walker, John (January 30, 2024). "Indie Classic Celeste Just Got A Surprise (Kinda) Sequel". Kotaku. 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. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  21. ^ a b c Yarwood, jack (January 30, 2024). "Celeste Devs Release N64-Inspired 3D Platformer To Celebrate 6th Anniversary". Time Extension. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  22. ^ "Release v1.1.0". Github. February 5, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Castle, Katherine (January 30, 2024). "Here's a free N64-style version of Celeste from Extremely OK Games". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  24. ^ King, Andrew (March 19, 2024). "Celeste 64 May Be Tiny But It Should Still Be A GOTY Contender". TheGamer. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  25. ^ Phillips, Kara (January 30, 2024). "Celeste is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a free 3D platformer". TechRadar. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  26. ^ Stanichar, Joseph (July 12, 2024). "Summer Games Done Quick 2024: This Year's Best Speedruns". Paste Magazine. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  27. ^ LeClair, Kyle (July 7, 2024). "Summer Games Done Quick 2024 Wraps Up with Over $2.54 Million Raised". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
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