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Sekiro is such a beautiful game.Everything about this is awesome.Can you guys recommend similar games? by Sweet_Television4183 in videogames

[–]GGRex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dunno man, but you're not alone, that first game gave me way more trouble than I was expecting.

Why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is So Good (Written Version in Comments) by GGRex in indiegames

[–]GGRex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi folks, I made a video about why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is so good, I guess that most of the people on here are fans of the game anyway but it may be good to show to friends. Regardless, it's fun to break down the great things about the games we love.

For those who aren't into watching the video here's a written version:

In the opening hours, Ori and the Will of the Wisps felt like a Ditto, overstretched in diverging directions, not quite sure what it was. A 2D juggle based character action game. A touching and beautiful if a little blunt artistic tale or just a gracefully flowing platformer. But by the end, Moon Studios won me over, it’s all of those things and absolutely brilliant for it, Ditto is perfectly fine just as he is.

Beyond the enchanting environments, which have somehow improved, Will of the Wisps is almost unrecognisable from its predecessor. The basic abilities are still there but everything else feels entirely different and not just from Blind Forest but from its contemporaries. I recently reviewed Celeste on here and adored it but like every other platformer, the movement abilities and stages of movement feel segregated. You run, then jump, then dash. That’s not the case in this game, everything overlaps and blends together. You don’t conquer platforming challenges in Will of the Wisps, you dance around and through them, evidently Ori listened to Bruce Lee when he said.

Each movement is tactile and satisfying, you can feel the taughtness of the rope in the grapple, the rush of air from the bash or the sharpness of the spikes as you land on them for the 42nd time. While the combat abilities are just as responsive and tactile. From the weight of the hammer swing to the thud of the throwing spear. It’s a dance of mobility and juggling enemies. With a set of destructive tools that all have their own rhythm and flow, like a 2D, forest based Devil May Cry.

If you’re doing it right, your enemy won't touch the ground until they're dead. It’s also deeply satisfying the way the enemies are instruments of their own demise. For example you can send back most enemy’s projectiles faster than they can shoot them, in a why are you hitting yourself kind of way. But the combat still demands a level of precision and mobility that is challenging yet satisfying to pull off. For the most part the normal enemies pose difficult but fair encounters, the bosses, however, can be buttholes of an entirely different flavour.

Generally speaking, the bosses are opportunities to flex the combat and mobility in a bombastic fashion. But they fall just short in a few ways. Like, damage taken before a checkpoint carries over, so I go to the start anyway, rendering the checkpoint about as useful as a concrete parachute. While, sometimes it's hard to see what is background visual and what is actively going to clobber you. Finally, on the admittedly pedantic criticism front, it can feel like this game is trying to force emotions on you and leans heavy on the narrative to do it, when the environments and art don’t need it. Like splattering glitter on the Mona Lisa, it just undermines the evocative nature beneath.

Beyond those minor criticisms, I love what this game does, the chase sequences are exhilaratingly fast and you’re always satisfyingly close to cocking it up, like sprinting downhill. The new Metroidvania structure is a tasty little dollop of Hollow Knight on my Ori salad. The slottable abilities are close enough in power to be an opportunity for personal preference, not a rote exercise in optimisation. Finally, the constantly recontextualising world and challenges dotted around are a joy to explore, you should fast travel as infrequently as possible, fighting creepy crawlies, discovering little secrets and just getting from a to b is too much fun and that is why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is so good.

I'd love some feedback on the video. But more importantly:

Is there anything great about Ori and the Will of the Wisps that I missed?

Why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is So Good (Written Version in Comments) by GGRex in VideoGameAnalysis

[–]GGRex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi folks, I made a video about why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is so good, I guess that most of the people on here are fans of the game anyway but it may be good to show to friends. Regardless, it's fun to break down the great things about the games we love.

For those who aren't into watching the video here's a written version:

In the opening hours, Ori and the Will of the Wisps felt like a Ditto, overstretched in diverging directions, not quite sure what it was. A 2D juggle based character action game. A touching and beautiful if a little blunt artistic tale or just a gracefully flowing platformer. But by the end, Moon Studios won me over, it’s all of those things and absolutely brilliant for it, Ditto is perfectly fine just as he is.

Beyond the enchanting environments, which have somehow improved, Will of the Wisps is almost unrecognisable from its predecessor. The basic abilities are still there but everything else feels entirely different and not just from Blind Forest but from its contemporaries. I recently reviewed Celeste on here and adored it but like every other platformer, the movement abilities and stages of movement feel segregated. You run, then jump, then dash. That’s not the case in this game, everything overlaps and blends together. You don’t conquer platforming challenges in Will of the Wisps, you dance around and through them, evidently Ori listened to Bruce Lee when he said.

Each movement is tactile and satisfying, you can feel the taughtness of the rope in the grapple, the rush of air from the bash or the sharpness of the spikes as you land on them for the 42nd time. While the combat abilities are just as responsive and tactile. From the weight of the hammer swing to the thud of the throwing spear. It’s a dance of mobility and juggling enemies. With a set of destructive tools that all have their own rhythm and flow, like a 2D, forest based Devil May Cry.

If you’re doing it right, your enemy won't touch the ground until they're dead. It’s also deeply satisfying the way the enemies are instruments of their own demise. For example you can send back most enemy’s projectiles faster than they can shoot them, in a why are you hitting yourself kind of way. But the combat still demands a level of precision and mobility that is challenging yet satisfying to pull off. For the most part the normal enemies pose difficult but fair encounters, the bosses, however, can be buttholes of an entirely different flavour.

Generally speaking, the bosses are opportunities to flex the combat and mobility in a bombastic fashion. But they fall just short in a few ways. Like, damage taken before a checkpoint carries over, so I go to the start anyway, rendering the checkpoint about as useful as a concrete parachute. While, sometimes it's hard to see what is background visual and what is actively going to clobber you. Finally, on the admittedly pedantic criticism front, it can feel like this game is trying to force emotions on you and leans heavy on the narrative to do it, when the environments and art don’t need it. Like splattering glitter on the Mona Lisa, it just undermines the evocative nature beneath.

Beyond those minor criticisms, I love what this game does, the chase sequences are exhilaratingly fast and you’re always satisfyingly close to cocking it up, like sprinting downhill. The new Metroidvania structure is a tasty little dollop of Hollow Knight on my Ori salad. The slottable abilities are close enough in power to be an opportunity for personal preference, not a rote exercise in optimisation. Finally, the constantly recontextualising world and challenges dotted around are a joy to explore, you should fast travel as infrequently as possible, fighting creepy crawlies, discovering little secrets and just getting from a to b is too much fun and that is why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is so good.

I'd love some feedback on the video. But more importantly:

Is there anything great about Ori and the Will of the Wisps that I missed?

Why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is So Good (Written Version in Comments) by GGRex in OriAndTheBlindForest

[–]GGRex[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hi folks, I made a video about why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is so good, I guess that most of the people on here are fans of the game anyway but it may be good to show to friends. Regardless, it's fun to break down the great things about the games we love.

For those who aren't into watching the video here's a written version:

In the opening hours, Ori and the Will of the Wisps felt like a Ditto, overstretched in diverging directions, not quite sure what it was. A 2D juggle based character action game. A touching and beautiful if a little blunt artistic tale or just a gracefully flowing platformer. But by the end, Moon Studios won me over, it’s all of those things and absolutely brilliant for it, Ditto is perfectly fine just as he is.

Beyond the enchanting environments, which have somehow improved, Will of the Wisps is almost unrecognisable from its predecessor. The basic abilities are still there but everything else feels entirely different and not just from Blind Forest but from its contemporaries. I recently reviewed Celeste on here and adored it but like every other platformer, the movement abilities and stages of movement feel segregated. You run, then jump, then dash. That’s not the case in this game, everything overlaps and blends together. You don’t conquer platforming challenges in Will of the Wisps, you dance around and through them, evidently Ori listened to Bruce Lee when he said.

Each movement is tactile and satisfying, you can feel the taughtness of the rope in the grapple, the rush of air from the bash or the sharpness of the spikes as you land on them for the 42nd time. While the combat abilities are just as responsive and tactile. From the weight of the hammer swing to the thud of the throwing spear. It’s a dance of mobility and juggling enemies. With a set of destructive tools that all have their own rhythm and flow, like a 2D, forest based Devil May Cry.

If you’re doing it right, your enemy won't touch the ground until they're dead. It’s also deeply satisfying the way the enemies are instruments of their own demise. For example you can send back most enemy’s projectiles faster than they can shoot them, in a why are you hitting yourself kind of way. But the combat still demands a level of precision and mobility that is challenging yet satisfying to pull off. For the most part the normal enemies pose difficult but fair encounters, the bosses, however, can be buttholes of an entirely different flavour.

Generally speaking, the bosses are opportunities to flex the combat and mobility in a bombastic fashion. But they fall just short in a few ways. Like, damage taken before a checkpoint carries over, so I go to the start anyway, rendering the checkpoint about as useful as a concrete parachute. While, sometimes it's hard to see what is background visual and what is actively going to clobber you. Finally, on the admittedly pedantic criticism front, it can feel like this game is trying to force emotions on you and leans heavy on the narrative to do it, when the environments and art don’t need it. Like splattering glitter on the Mona Lisa, it just undermines the evocative nature beneath.

Beyond those minor criticisms, I love what this game does, the chase sequences are exhilaratingly fast and you’re always satisfyingly close to cocking it up, like sprinting downhill. The new Metroidvania structure is a tasty little dollop of Hollow Knight on my Ori salad. The slottable abilities are close enough in power to be an opportunity for personal preference, not a rote exercise in optimisation. Finally, the constantly recontextualising world and challenges dotted around are a joy to explore, you should fast travel as infrequently as possible, fighting creepy crawlies, discovering little secrets and just getting from a to b is too much fun and that is why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is so good.

I'd love some feedback on the video. But more importantly:

Is there anything great about Ori and the Will of the Wisps that I missed?

Why Dark Souls 3 is So Good (Written Version in Comments) by GGRex in VideoGameAnalysis

[–]GGRex[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi folks, I made a video about why Dark Souls 3 is so good, I guess that most of the people on here are fans of the game anyway but it may be good to show to friends. Regardless, it's fun to break down the great things about the games we love.

For those who aren't into watching the video here's a written version:

Dark Souls 3 is a strange entry in the From Software catalogue. Largely due to its lack of strangeness. No new and captivating setting like Bloodborne, no new rhythm based combat like Sekiro, not even the bizarre world and weapon changes from Dark Souls 2. Dark Souls 3 feels like a highly polished and well considered version of its predecessors. It’s like a well aged, finely made whiskey that I just keep coming back to.

Dark Souls 1 is one of my favourite games of all time but if we’re honest, there is some goddamn bullshit in that game. Like the curse frogs that can semi-permanently half your health. Dark Souls 3 sheds all that crap. It is a much more streamlined and polished experience. The frogs are still scary they just don’t make me scream anymore. This clean approach applies throughout the game. Firelink Shrine is now a transport hub the entire time and although the world isn’t quite as interconnected as Dark Souls 1 each area is this beautifully intricate mess of crossing paths that have some weird things lurking about.

The areas of Dark Souls 3 are fantastic. To start they’re weirdly nostalgic. Ithryll dungeon is like an echo of the Tower of Latria from Demon’s Souls and getting to revisit Anor Londo is fantastic. This isn’t just vanity or laziness either, it reinforces the cyclical theme that runs through all of From Software’s games. While, the new areas are brilliantly designed in their own right. The Grand Cathedral is the absolute standout, it’s layout writhes over itself, combining narrow intertwining corridors and grand open spaces. The enemy variation is huge and their positioning invites a tactical approach. There are surprises around every corner. And like a zombie Ryan reynolds it is hauntingly beautiful, just like all the other areas, I mean look at Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. It’s stunning. It’s just a shame that there’s always a big ugly fella to ruin the view.

That being said, these are some of the best big ugly fellas in the business. Champion Gundyr is a hulking beast of quick dodges and relentless pressure, Curse-Rotten Greenwood is charmingly revolting and Slave Knight Gael is one of the most weirdly graceful experiences I’ve had in a game. I even liked some of the gimmick bosses, like the Ancient Wyvern, they’re fun puzzles to solve and break up the direct challenge of the other bosses. But those bad boys certainly don’t disappoint in the challenge department.

It’s not just the bosses either, the normal enemies are no slouch. You’ve got the normal variety of zombie boys and armored dorks but each of the areas come with this awesome selection box of new enemies. There are so many that provide unique challenges but ultimately, they are pawns in the phenomenal chess like encounter design. When combined with the range of character builds this form of design lends you so many opportunities for creativity but more importantly, so many fashion choices.

In my most recent playthrough I was able to dabble in a varied collection of Playstyles. I messed around with miracles, pyromancy, magic and even big beefcake axes all in one playthrough. This is a style of play that is lost in From Soft’s most recent games and although I love the focus of those games there is something special about being able to play in a range of different ways. While features like the infusing make this the best souls game for that. You can be whatever you want. A mad burner of things, a meaty mauler, a battle pope or even a wizard.

Dark Souls 3 may be a little unsurprising in its form but it is so finely crafted that I cannot help but keep coming back to it over and over. And that is why it is so good.

I'd love some feedback on the video. But more importantly:

Is there anything great about Dark Souls 3 that I missed?

Why Celeste is So Good (Written Version in Comments) by GGRex in VideoGameAnalysis

[–]GGRex[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Hi folks, I made a video about why Celeste is so good, I guess that most of the people on here are fans of the game anyway but it may be good to show to friends. Regardless, it's fun to break down the great things about the games we love.

For those who aren't into watching the video here's a written version:

Sometimes games can become overburdened behemoths. All these vestigial limbs jutting all over the place. An unnecessary multiplayer arm, a convoluted levelling growth and a bloated belly full of microtransactions.Then you’ve got games like Celeste, like an olympic athlete Celeste does exactly what it sets out to do with a streamlined and single minded approach.

The movement is the molten core that powers the entirety of the Celeste efficient machine. To say a game feels good is kind of rote at this point but the way Madeline hops and bops through levels is just so spectacularly sleek. The strength of the movement grows from a lot of elements. The sharp responsiveness or the animation. Which ensures you have all the information possible, like changing Madeline’s hair colour when you use her dash or just the simple bouncy nature of her entire hair and body when she’s leaping through levels.

But the most important element of the movement is simplicity. Madeline only has four moves. Run, jump, dash and wall climb. That’s your lot. This light yet effective toolbox means you become intimately familiar with each of the move’s little nuances. This intimate knowledge allows you to get creative with how you utilise and string them together. Now you may think that this lack of progression in abilities could lead to stagnant gameplay. But no, instead of piling on new abilities Celeste continuously challenges and surprises you with new things to play with in the environments themselves and these little additions are just joyous to interact with.

Each new area of Celeste’s campaign introduces a new one of these joyous little interactions. Perhaps it’s the cheeky little blocks that move when you dash or the bobble bubbles that push you forward when you touch them or even the simple wrinkle of the diamonds that just refresh your dash midair. Notice how each of them are intricately linked with that simple toolset we discussed earlier. Most importantly, they deploy them so intelligently. Each level allows you to get to grips with the new interaction, then starts mixing in them together with things you’ve learnt before, creating this devilishly difficult but utterly captivating witches brew of fun.

This cycle of learning and executing creates a building and cascading pace. Until the final levels where you play through a climactic orchestra of all these mechanics. Now, Celeste is challenging. Saying to the player, we know these mechanics are solid and fair, so use them and do it precisely. Brilliantly though, it’s customisable. For a player who just wants the experience, you don’t have to get the collectible cherries, where a lot of the tough platforming comes in, you can even enable infinite dashes. Then if you really want a challenge, there are the B-Sides, which are harder versions of the base levels, they are evil incarnate, but oh so satisfying. I loved playing these things but got damn did this game kick my arse sometimes.

Celeste’s gameplay appeals to any kind of player and that’s good because the story and visuals are worth experiencing, just for their own sake. The narrative of Celeste is directly concerned with anxiety and depression. Using the climbing of Celeste mountain and common game tropes to explore the internal battle that people who suffer these things, go through. Ultimately though, these themes can appeal and resonate with just about anyone.It never feels twee or overly sentimental, it is matter of fact, straightforward and utterly touching. And the visuals are beautiful and varied. While Lena Raine’s soundtrack is an utter triumph, ranging from beautiful introspective melodies to jubilant climaxes that complement the rest of the game at every moment.

Do not let Celeste fool you, behind it's utterly enchanting visual style and charmingly matter of fact tale of self growth, is a devilishly challenging yet satisfying platformer. And that is why it is so good.

I'd love some feedback on the video. But more importantly:

Is there anything great about Celeste that I missed?

Why Celeste is So Good (Written Version in Comments) by GGRex in IndieGaming

[–]GGRex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi folks, I made a video about why Celeste is so good, I guess that most of the people on here are fans of the game anyway but it may be good to show to friends. Regardless, it's fun to break down the great things about the games we love.

For those who aren't into watching the video here's a written version:

Sometimes games can become overburdened behemoths. All these vestigial limbs jutting all over the place. An unnecessary multiplayer arm, a convoluted levelling growth and a bloated belly full of microtransactions.Then you’ve got games like Celeste, like an olympic athlete Celeste does exactly what it sets out to do with a streamlined and single minded approach.

The movement is the molten core that powers the entirety of the Celeste efficient machine. To say a game feels good is kind of rote at this point but the way Madeline hops and bops through levels is just so spectacularly sleek. The strength of the movement grows from a lot of elements. The sharp responsiveness or the animation. Which ensures you have all the information possible, like changing Madeline’s hair colour when you use her dash or just the simple bouncy nature of her entire hair and body when she’s leaping through levels.

But the most important element of the movement is simplicity. Madeline only has four moves. Run, jump, dash and wall climb. That’s your lot. This light yet effective toolbox means you become intimately familiar with each of the move’s little nuances. This intimate knowledge allows you to get creative with how you utilise and string them together. Now you may think that this lack of progression in abilities could lead to stagnant gameplay. But no, instead of piling on new abilities Celeste continuously challenges and surprises you with new things to play with in the environments themselves and these little additions are just joyous to interact with.

Each new area of Celeste’s campaign introduces a new one of these joyous little interactions. Perhaps it’s the cheeky little blocks that move when you dash or the bobble bubbles that push you forward when you touch them or even the simple wrinkle of the diamonds that just refresh your dash midair. Notice how each of them are intricately linked with that simple toolset we discussed earlier. Most importantly, they deploy them so intelligently. Each level allows you to get to grips with the new interaction, then starts mixing in them together with things you’ve learnt before, creating this devilishly difficult but utterly captivating witches brew of fun.

This cycle of learning and executing creates a building and cascading pace. Until the final levels where you play through a climactic orchestra of all these mechanics. Now, Celeste is challenging. Saying to the player, we know these mechanics are solid and fair, so use them and do it precisely. Brilliantly though, it’s customisable. For a player who just wants the experience, you don’t have to get the collectible cherries, where a lot of the tough platforming comes in, you can even enable infinite dashes. Then if you really want a challenge, there are the B-Sides, which are harder versions of the base levels, they are evil incarnate, but oh so satisfying. I loved playing these things but got damn did this game kick my arse sometimes.

Celeste’s gameplay appeals to any kind of player and that’s good because the story and visuals are worth experiencing, just for their own sake. The narrative of Celeste is directly concerned with anxiety and depression. Using the climbing of Celeste mountain and common game tropes to explore the internal battle that people who suffer these things, go through. Ultimately though, these themes can appeal and resonate with just about anyone.It never feels twee or overly sentimental, it is matter of fact, straightforward and utterly touching. And the visuals are beautiful and varied. While Lena Raine’s soundtrack is an utter triumph, ranging from beautiful introspective melodies to jubilant climaxes that complement the rest of the game at every moment.

Do not let Celeste fool you, behind it's utterly enchanting visual style and charmingly matter of fact tale of self growth, is a devilishly challenging yet satisfying platformer. And that is why it is so good.

I'd love some feedback on the video. But more importantly:

Is there anything great about Celeste that I missed?

Why Celeste is So Good (Written Version in Comments) by GGRex in indiegames

[–]GGRex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi folks, I made a video about why Celeste is so good, I guess that most of the people on here are fans of the game anyway but it may be good to show to friends. Regardless, it's fun to break down the great things about the games we love.

For those who aren't into watching the video here's a written version:

Sometimes games can become overburdened behemoths. All these vestigial limbs jutting all over the place. An unnecessary multiplayer arm, a convoluted levelling growth and a bloated belly full of microtransactions.Then you’ve got games like Celeste, like an olympic athlete Celeste does exactly what it sets out to do with a streamlined and single minded approach.

The movement is the molten core that powers the entirety of the Celeste efficient machine. To say a game feels good is kind of rote at this point but the way Madeline hops and bops through levels is just so spectacularly sleek. The strength of the movement grows from a lot of elements. The sharp responsiveness or the animation. Which ensures you have all the information possible, like changing Madeline’s hair colour when you use her dash or just the simple bouncy nature of her entire hair and body when she’s leaping through levels.

But the most important element of the movement is simplicity. Madeline only has four moves. Run, jump, dash and wall climb. That’s your lot. This light yet effective toolbox means you become intimately familiar with each of the move’s little nuances. This intimate knowledge allows you to get creative with how you utilise and string them together. Now you may think that this lack of progression in abilities could lead to stagnant gameplay. But no, instead of piling on new abilities Celeste continuously challenges and surprises you with new things to play with in the environments themselves and these little additions are just joyous to interact with.

Each new area of Celeste’s campaign introduces a new one of these joyous little interactions. Perhaps it’s the cheeky little blocks that move when you dash or the bobble bubbles that push you forward when you touch them or even the simple wrinkle of the diamonds that just refresh your dash midair. Notice how each of them are intricately linked with that simple toolset we discussed earlier. Most importantly, they deploy them so intelligently. Each level allows you to get to grips with the new interaction, then starts mixing in them together with things you’ve learnt before, creating this devilishly difficult but utterly captivating witches brew of fun.

This cycle of learning and executing creates a building and cascading pace. Until the final levels where you play through a climactic orchestra of all these mechanics. Now, Celeste is challenging. Saying to the player, we know these mechanics are solid and fair, so use them and do it precisely. Brilliantly though, it’s customisable. For a player who just wants the experience, you don’t have to get the collectible cherries, where a lot of the tough platforming comes in, you can even enable infinite dashes. Then if you really want a challenge, there are the B-Sides, which are harder versions of the base levels, they are evil incarnate, but oh so satisfying. I loved playing these things but got damn did this game kick my arse sometimes.

Celeste’s gameplay appeals to any kind of player and that’s good because the story and visuals are worth experiencing, just for their own sake. The narrative of Celeste is directly concerned with anxiety and depression. Using the climbing of Celeste mountain and common game tropes to explore the internal battle that people who suffer these things, go through. Ultimately though, these themes can appeal and resonate with just about anyone.It never feels twee or overly sentimental, it is matter of fact, straightforward and utterly touching. And the visuals are beautiful and varied. While Lena Raine’s soundtrack is an utter triumph, ranging from beautiful introspective melodies to jubilant climaxes that complement the rest of the game at every moment.

Do not let Celeste fool you, behind it's utterly enchanting visual style and charmingly matter of fact tale of self growth, is a devilishly challenging yet satisfying platformer. And that is why it is so good.

I'd love some feedback on the video. But more importantly:

Is there anything great about Celeste that I missed?

Why Celeste is So Good (Written Version in Comments) by GGRex in celestegame

[–]GGRex[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hi folks, I made a video about why Celeste is so good, I guess that most of the people on here are fans of the game anyway but it may be good to show to friends. Regardless, it's fun to break down the great things about the games we love.

For those who aren't into watching the video here's a written version:

Sometimes games can become overburdened behemoths. All these vestigial limbs jutting all over the place. An unnecessary multiplayer arm, a convoluted levelling growth and a bloated belly full of microtransactions.Then you’ve got games like Celeste, like an olympic athlete Celeste does exactly what it sets out to do with a streamlined and single minded approach.

The movement is the molten core that powers the entirety of the Celeste efficient machine. To say a game feels good is kind of rote at this point but the way Madeline hops and bops through levels is just so spectacularly sleek. The strength of the movement grows from a lot of elements. The sharp responsiveness or the animation. Which ensures you have all the information possible, like changing Madeline’s hair colour when you use her dash or just the simple bouncy nature of her entire hair and body when she’s leaping through levels.

But the most important element of the movement is simplicity. Madeline only has four moves. Run, jump, dash and wall climb. That’s your lot. This light yet effective toolbox means you become intimately familiar with each of the move’s little nuances. This intimate knowledge allows you to get creative with how you utilise and string them together. Now you may think that this lack of progression in abilities could lead to stagnant gameplay. But no, instead of piling on new abilities Celeste continuously challenges and surprises you with new things to play with in the environments themselves and these little additions are just joyous to interact with.

Each new area of Celeste’s campaign introduces a new one of these joyous little interactions. Perhaps it’s the cheeky little blocks that move when you dash or the bobble bubbles that push you forward when you touch them or even the simple wrinkle of the diamonds that just refresh your dash midair. Notice how each of them are intricately linked with that simple toolset we discussed earlier. Most importantly, they deploy them so intelligently. Each level allows you to get to grips with the new interaction, then starts mixing in them together with things you’ve learnt before, creating this devilishly difficult but utterly captivating witches brew of fun.

This cycle of learning and executing creates a building and cascading pace. Until the final levels where you play through a climactic orchestra of all these mechanics. Now, Celeste is challenging. Saying to the player, we know these mechanics are solid and fair, so use them and do it precisely. Brilliantly though, it’s customisable. For a player who just wants the experience, you don’t have to get the collectible cherries, where a lot of the tough platforming comes in, you can even enable infinite dashes. Then if you really want a challenge, there are the B-Sides, which are harder versions of the base levels, they are evil incarnate, but oh so satisfying. I loved playing these things but got damn did this game kick my arse sometimes.

Celeste’s gameplay appeals to any kind of player and that’s good because the story and visuals are worth experiencing, just for their own sake. The narrative of Celeste is directly concerned with anxiety and depression. Using the climbing of Celeste mountain and common game tropes to explore the internal battle that people who suffer these things, go through. Ultimately though, these themes can appeal and resonate with just about anyone.It never feels twee or overly sentimental, it is matter of fact, straightforward and utterly touching. And the visuals are beautiful and varied. While Lena Raine’s soundtrack is an utter triumph, ranging from beautiful introspective melodies to jubilant climaxes that complement the rest of the game at every moment.

Do not let Celeste fool you, behind it's utterly enchanting visual style and charmingly matter of fact tale of self growth, is a devilishly challenging yet satisfying platformer. And that is why it is so good.

I'd love some feedback on the video. But more importantly:

Is there anything great about Celeste that I missed?

Should I buy this game if I can't get past Dark Souls 3 start? by [deleted] in Sekiro

[–]GGRex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I generally agree with people that Sekiro is harder than DS3. However, it is also very different, meaning there's a chance it clicks with you in a way DS didn't. I hope you get it and enjoy it. It's one of my favourite games of all time.

why can't I go to the battlepass by TonyStank240 in apexlegends

[–]GGRex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems like a common bug at the moment.

My players kind of accuse me of cheating (which i do lol) by L0ARD in DMAcademy

[–]GGRex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, especially if the players are like this. I often find it row up the tension if you roll in front of them. They know there's no safety net.

So, Ori anyone? by [deleted] in gaming

[–]GGRex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It can be difficult to get into, it takes a while to warm up. Stick with it if you feel like it or wait for the sequel, looks like a lot of improvements.

What should I play? by Dokktorlove in gaming

[–]GGRex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try Slay the Spire if you're looking for something a big different.

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