Depression and anxiety aren?t uncommon today. Around 7% of US citizens are suffering from major depressive disorder alone. I?m part of that statistic. I see the world in a different light than I did when I was younger. For starters, I have a better taste in music, but more importantly, things send me into a depressive mood much more easily. This includes challenging platformers. As a high schooler, I loved playing Super Meat Boy and 1,001 Spikes late into the night. I thrived on that masocore challenge. Now, it feels like these games are laughing at my failures and kicking me while I?m down. That?s not exactly a feeling I want to experience in my spare time.
Enter Celeste, which at first glance, looks like another apple on the tree. It?s made by the same developer as Towerfall Ascension (Matt Thorson), who has a history of crafting niche, arduous platformers. However, Celeste?s tone is a much-needed departure from the titles that paved the current “tough-guy” gaming scene. Instead of chiding you as you hop betwixt spikes and across pits, the experience encourages you. Celeste begins with an onslaught of challenging levels. Countless lives are thrown to the wind as the protagonist, Madeline, meets her untimely demise over and over. Yet each time, Madeline dusts herself off and tries again. We learn early on that she suffers from depression and is climbing Celeste Mountain to try to overcome her illness. She has something to prove.

Teaching Lessons
Every singl...