# Celeste (video game)

Celeste is a 2018 platformer video game developed and published by indie studio Maddy Makes Games. It stars the player character Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression who endeavors to climb Celeste Mountain. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including a personification of her self-doubt named Badeline who attempts to stop her from reaching the mountain's summit.
Development of Celeste began in August 2015, when game developers Maddy Thorson and Noel Berry participated in a game jam where they create a version of Celeste for the PICO-8. Thorson, who served as producer, and Berry, who served as the lead programmer, wanted to expand the PICO-8 version into a full game. Inspired in part by Thorson's own TowerFall (2013) and Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), the gameplay was designed to be minimal and to mirror the feeling of bouldering. Celeste was designed to be accessible, featuring game mechanics and an "Assist Mode" that make the game more forgiving and less challenging. To create a more "introspective" game, the developers added themes of self-forgiveness into the narrative, which grew to become intertwined with the gameplay. Celeste's soundtrack was composed by Lena Raine.
Celeste released on January 25, 2018, for Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows, and released for Xbox One the following day; it was released for Google Stadia in July 2020. Upon release, the game received praise from critics. Reviewers praised the interplay of its narrative and gameplay, and lauded its player movement and controls. Critics also appreciated its approach to difficulty and accessibility, and its depictions of depression and anxiety. Celeste's music and its pixel art style was also praised.
Since its release, Celeste has been considered by some to be among the greatest video games of all time, and it has garnered a dedicated fandom and active speedrunning and modding communities. On September 9, 2019, a free downloadable content (DLC) expansion named Farewell was released, introducing a new chapter to the game. The game's developers have rejected the possibility of a sequel for Celeste, though they have created small-scale spin-offs: Celeste 2: Lani's Trek, a sequel to the original PICO-8 version, was released for Celeste's third anniversary in 2021; Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain, a short sequel with three-dimensional gameplay, was released for its sixth anniversary in 2024.

## Gameplay

Celeste is a two-dimensional platform game. The player controls Madeline, who has the ability to run, jump, climb walls for a limited time, wall jump, and dash in mid-air in one of eight directions. Certain objects grant Madeline additional abilities. Green gems refill her dash ability without the need to land on the ground. Other objects include "dream blocks" that transport her from one side to another when dashed into, moving blocks that can transfer their momentum to Madeline when jumped off of, bubbles that move her when touched, and platforms that move after she dashes. The difficulty can be lowered through the use of an "Assist Mode", a setting that provides accessibility options including a lowered game speed, unlimited use of the dash ability, or the option to grant Madeline invincibility.
The base game is made up of eight chapters divided into multiple single-screen challenges, with checkpoints in between screens. Chapters contain branching paths leading to optional challenges and hidden collectibles, including strawberries, cassette tapes, and crystal hearts that unlock certain gates. Certain chapters contain a boss character. Each of the eight chapters has a "B-side" level that reuses mechanics from the main level to create a more difficult experience. B-side levels can be unlocked by locating the hidden cassette tape in its corresponding level. After completing all eight B-sides, "C-side" levels are unlocked that are shorter in length but with increased difficulty. The Farewell expansion adds a ninth chapter with no B-side or C-side and no ordinary strawberries, and adds grabbable jellyfish that function as parachutes, exploding pufferfish that can launch Madeline, and "double-dash" gems that give Madeline two dashes when collected.

## Plot

Celeste takes place on a fictionalized version of Celeste Mountain, which features several areas, including an abandoned city and resort, and is seemingly haunted, housing many strange occurrences. The protagonist, a young woman named Madeline, decides to climb Celeste Mountain to challenge her anxiety, and stubbornly persists until she reaches the mountain's summit. Upon her arrival at the mountain's base, she meets an elderly woman called Granny, who warns her against climbing the mountain. After ignoring Granny, Madeline encounters an abandoned city, where she meets Theo, a social media-obsessed traveler from Seattle. In the next area, Madeline experiences a nightmare where she encounters a part of herself in a mirror, a personification of her anxiety and depression known as "Badeline", who chases her out of the area. Badeline goes on to cast doubt on Madeline's ability to successfully climb the mountain, arguing that her attempts to prevent Madeline from continuing will save her from climbing the mountain unprepared, and that she is the "pragmatic part" of Madeline.
Madeline then enters the Celestial Resort and meets Mr. Oshiro, a ghost who owns an abandoned resort. Oshiro struggles to leave his past behind, instead living in denial. He tries to persuade Madeline to stay at the resort and improve its poor condition. After she helps him clean up, Badeline appears and taunts Oshiro, saying that Madeline only helped him to fuel her own ego. Believing Badeline's words, he becomes enraged and chases Madeline out of the resort. Madeline then navigates through a windy environment until meeting Theo at a gondola lift. Badeline halts the gondola during its movement, causing Madeline to have a panic attack. Theo helps calm her down by teaching her a breathing exercise. The two arrive at an ancient temple, where Theo gets trapped inside a crystal, and Madeline escorts him to safety. After speaking to Theo, Madeline gains enough confidence to confront Badeline, and reveals her intention to abandon her. In retaliation, Badeline throws her down the mountain. After finding Granny, who suggests to her that she should seek resolution rather than abandonment, Madeline searches for Badeline. After a chase, Madeline apologizes to Badeline. The two reconcile and vow to climb the mountain together. After reaching the summit, they enjoy a strawberry pie with Granny, Theo, and Oshiro.
About a year later, Madeline meets with Granny to explore the mountain's core. Later, the two develop a connection to each other. Mourning Granny's death, Madeline visits her grave. Madeline sees a mysterious bird at Granny's grave. Believing the bird to be her reincarnation, she decides to pursue it through space in hopes of locating Granny. Badeline is against this idea and abandons Madeline, forcing her to chase the bird alone. Badeline later returns, attempting to warn Madeline that she is dreaming and that she needs to wake up. Despite initially refusing, Madeline later concedes and instead decides to free the bird as a tribute to Granny. Madeline meets Granny in a cloud-filled area and apologizes for not attending her funeral. After waking up, Madeline is seen speaking to Theo on a video call, who reveals that Granny was friends with his grandfather.

## Development
### Conception

The original version of Celeste was developed by Maddy Thorson and Noel Berry in August 2015 for the fantasy video game console PICO-8 during a game jam lasting four days. Due to self-imposed restrictions and time limitations, Thorson and Berry wanted the game to be minimal with additional mechanics to add complexity, to which they felt the idea of a character struggling to climb a mountain was fitting. The initial prototype was titled "Everest". They decided that the project would be a single-player adventure from its initial conception, with lessons from the development of Thorson's previous game, TowerFall (2013), carried over into the game. After the development of the PICO-8 version, retroactively titled Celeste Classic, the team wanted to expand the game with additional development time and fewer restrictions. Celeste Classic was added to Celeste as a hidden minigame. Celeste was produced by Thorson, and Berry served as the lead programmer. The development team underwent crunch during the last few months of development.

### Gameplay and accessibility

Thorson and Berry cited multiple games as having influenced the gameplay of Celeste, including Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995), Metroid (1986), and Kero Blaster (2014). Thorson singled out Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) as the game Celeste was most inspired by, particularly for its approach to problem-solving, and the game's level design was noted by Shacknews and Kill Screen to have been reminiscent of levels created by Thorson in Super Mario Maker (2015).
Thorson wanted Madeline's moveset to be minimal while still emulating the feeling of bouldering, which inspired Madeline's limited stamina when climbing walls, and the stamina system was further shaped by the importance of vertical space caused by the mountain-climbing theme. Due to the gameplay requiring more precise control, the developers chose not to use a pre-existing physics engine so they could predetermine outcomes for certain situations. The precise gameplay also influenced the art style, as the team felt that pixel art could more clearly convey information to the player, in addition to the team's familiarity with the style. The team frequently adjusted Madeline's attributes and redesigned levels.
During the design phase, the team wanted Celeste to feel difficult yet fair to the player, and modified or removed levels or mechanics they deemed unfairly difficult. The team prioritized matching the player's intent over requiring near-perfect execution, though challenges later in the game require more precision. Several mechanics contribute to this, one example being "coyote time", which allows players to jump for a small moment after leaving the ground, named after Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote's ability to become suspended in midair and only fall once made aware of the situation. Additional mechanics include the ability for a jump to be input slightly before touching the ground, a mechanic that simulates rounded corners to prevent the player from colliding with a corner, and one that allows players to jump off of a wall while slightly in front of it rather than requiring direct contact. The mechanics were designed to allow Celeste to be either hardcore or forgiving, depending on the player's preference. The game was further designed to make more difficult challenges have a more clear solution.
Systems like strawberries, B-sides, and Assist Mode were designed to allow the player to customize the difficulty of Celeste. Thorson said that the ability of Assist Mode to make the game less challenging served as a counterbalance to the optional content such as strawberries, which make it more challenging. The implementation of an accessibility mode was decided on after observing public discourse surrounding Cuphead (2017) that originated after many players felt that the game was too difficult or unforgiving. This mode was initially titled "Cheat Mode", but Thorson felt that the name was too judgmental and decided on "Assist Mode" as an alternative. She said that the mode was added late into development, and Berry added that it took only "a couple of day's work" to develop, though balancing the game as a whole required extensive playtesting.

### Story and themes

Thorson wrote Celeste's story. The team had little direction for the story at the start of development, but they wanted it to be more introspective compared to TowerFall and were inspired by Studio Ghibli films such as Spirited Away (2001). The inspiration for Celeste's story came during development, when Thorson reached a "breaking point" where her depression and anxiety became too severe to be ignored. She wanted to explore those ideas in the game, but creating a narrative around her experiences was difficult because her struggles persisted during development. When writing the story, the team did not consult mental health professionals and chose to write based only on their own experiences, making the story personal and relatable instead of representative of mental illness as a whole. The developers were surprised by the large role played by the story in Celeste, and their decision to delay the game was made to "do the story justice", properly connect it to the gameplay, and make Madeline's experiences in the narrative reflect the player's experiences in the gameplay.
The ending was undecided for most of development. Thorson initially knew she wanted Madeline to fall down the mountain before ultimately reaching the summit, but did not know how it would be executed or framed within the story as a whole. She later decided to show the player that Madeline's struggles were not "magically better" after she reached the summit, and that Madeline's attempt to rid herself of anxiety by forcing her 'other self' into submission was incorrect and that she instead must learn to exist alongside it. After development, Thorson said that because she was "in the process of discovering her queerness" during development, Celeste's story inadvertently had queer undertones. Thorson said that Madeline was a transgender woman in 2020 after the character appeared with a transgender pride flag during the ending of Farewell, which she said was obvious in retrospect because Madeline's gender identity inadvertently reflected her own.

### Music

Lena Raine composed the majority of Celeste's soundtrack, with additional composers providing remixes of Raine's score for most of the B-side levels. Raine's score informed the visual design for certain levels. Sound designer Kevin Regamey incorporated sound effects into the music to further match gameplay, after which Raine would contribute further "musical ambience".
Specific sounds in the music of Celeste were designed to match certain themes. According to Raine, "In The Mirror" was one of the strangest tracks she has composed. Its synthesizer-heavy sequences, noted by Raine to be reminiscent of Vangelis and Blade Runner (1982), were designed to match the "cosmic horrors" experienced by Madeline. In "Resurrections", she created an "othering" sound that transitioned from the more simple melodic progression of "First Steps", and an "etherial sound evocative of a space that didn't seem quite real", as the song would play during a lucid dream sequence. "In the Mirror" includes vocals performed by Raine as Madeline's internal dialogue, reversed due to the theming of mirrors. When developing the song, she wanted there to be a sound nearly unintelligible and spoken in the background. She decided to record herself in a dark closet, attempting to vocalize what she related to in Madeline's struggles. According to Raine, she tries to "inject some part" of herself into her musical projects.
Each character in Celeste is represented by their own instrument. Madeline is represented by a piano, Badeline is represented by a synthesizer, Theo is represented by guitar, and Oshiro is represented by a "theremin-like" synthesizer. Granny is an exception, as, according to Raine, "she embodies the power of the mountain and is a fairly omnipresent figure". Badeline's theme, a motif that first appears in "Resurrections" and later reappears in several other tracks, is written entirely in minor key, in contrast to Madeline's, which is "primarily cheery" and only occasionally transitions into a minor key. In the song "Anxiety", Raine attempted to capture the feeling of a panic attack and made the piano theme representative of Madeline be "engulfed" by the synthesizer representative of Badeline.

### Farewell

The Farewell expansion began development following a long break after release, and was developed in conjunction with the team's next project, Earthblade. Initially planned to be a self-contained collection of extremely difficult levels, the expansion later grew in scope to include a new narrative continuing from the story of the base game. Farewell was released at no additional cost, which Thorson said was possible only due to the financial success of Celeste. Raine returned to compose the soundtrack for Farewell.

## Marketing and release

Celeste was announced in July 2016, and Thorson and Berry livestreamed themselves developing the game on Twitch. The next month, a demo of the game was made playable at PAX West's Indie Megabooth. Celeste was initially announced for release in 2017, as Thorson and Berry wanted it to release as a launch game for the then-upcoming Nintendo Switch in March 2017. By December 2016, its release window had been changed to "mid-2017". The next February, a full trailer was released, showcasing Celeste's gameplay. In April 2017, the development team published the first post for an Instagram account written in-character as Theo. The series of images framed as Theo's selfies serve as a prelude to the events of Celeste, detailing Theo's backstory and journey to Celeste Mountain.
Celeste released on January 25, 2018, on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Linux, and it would be released on Xbox One the following day. On July 9, 2020, it was announced that the game would be releasing on the cloud gaming service Google Stadia. It was added to the collection of games included for free with Stadia Pro—a subscription-based version of Stadia—on September 29.
Madeline and Badeline appeared as crossover characters in the Nintendo Switch version of TowerFall, released on September 27, 2018. In October 2018, Scarlet Moon Records announced Prescriptions for Sleep: Celeste, an album of Celeste cover songs described by Nintendo Life as "lullaby-style renditions" of the game's soundtrack. Prescriptions for Sleep: Celeste features violin by Maiko, saxophone by Norihiko Hibino, and piano by AYAKI, with Raine serving as co-producer. An open pre-order window for a Celeste collector's edition produced by Limited Run Games began on January 1, 2019. On January 21, it was announced that the game's soundtrack would receive an album of piano covers by Trevor Alan Gomes, titled Celeste Piano Collections, a part of the Piano Collections series by Materia Collective, released on January 25. In July, Materia Collective purchased the publishing rights for the music, and the composers of the game's B-side music went without royalties for 17 months. For its fifth anniversary in January 2023, it was announced that a new Celeste collector's edition from Fangamer would release that June.
In December 2018, Thorson announced that additional downloadable content (DLC) levels for Celeste would be released in "early 2019". The final chapter of Celeste, Farewell, was released as free DLC on September 9, 2019, however the team noted that the Xbox One version would have a slight delay.

### Sales

In 2018, Celeste sold over 500,000 units, with the Nintendo Switch version reportedly being the most popular. Prior to the release of Farewell, Thorson said that Celeste was "coming up on a million copies soon"—it had reached that number by March 2020. The soundtrack had been streamed over 4 million times on Spotify and purchased over 6,000 times by the end of 2018.

## Reception
### Critical response

Aggregate score :
| Aggregator | Score |
| Metacritic | 92/100 (NS) 91/100 (PS4) 94/100 (XONE) 88/100 (PC) |
Review scores :
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | Recommended |
| Game Informer | 9/10 |
| GameSpot | 9/10 |
| Hardcore Gamer | 5/5 |
| IGN | 10/10 |
| Nintendo Life | 10/10 |
| Nintendo World Report | 10/10 |
| PC Gamer (US) | 80/100 |
| Polygon | 8/10 |
| Push Square | 8/10 |
| Shacknews | 8/10 |
| USgamer | 4.5/5 |
| VideoGamer.com | 9/10 |
| Ars Technica | Buy |
| Rock Paper Shotgun | Recommended |
| Paste | 8.5/10 |
According to the review aggregate website Metacritic, Celeste received "universal acclaim" on consoles, and "generally favorable reviews" on PC. Reviewers praised the game, with many describing it as "magnificent", "excellent", or "special", and IGN called it a "surprise masterpiece". It was considered by Hardcore Gamer to be among the best games of 2018, and Ars Technica called it "the most intense, memorable, and satisfying platformer" of the 2010s. GameSpot described Celeste as "memorable", and several reviewers said it was a game they would recommend to everyone. Reviewers appreciated how the game blended its narrative and gameplay, and Eurogamer said that "everything in Celeste speaks of care and attention". Game Informer said that Celeste was "easy to love and hard to put down", while Rock Paper Shotgun said they "enjoyed every minute" of Celeste.
The gameplay of Celeste received praise. Many reviewers felt that its controls and movement were among the best in any game or was otherwise "smooth". Polygon described the game's movement as "firm and consistent" and said they felt "in complete control" while playing. The variety and implementation of game mechanics was praised—though PC Gamer lamented the addition of strong winds as a "huge momentum killer"—while Hardcore Gamer said that the "genius" of Celeste came "from simplicity". In-game collectibles were generally praised: Nintendo Life said collecting them felt "very gratifying", while Game Informer disliked how there was a lack of significant extrinsic motivation to collect them. Paste said that Thorson "mastered level design as an unambiguous challenge" with Celeste because the game told the player what their goal was effectively, and the challenge came only from execution.
Celeste's approach to difficulty was lauded by critics. The difficulty was likened by Polygon to "masocore" games, and many compared Celeste to Super Meat Boy (2010) because both have a high difficulty. Many felt that the responsibility of failure felt as though it was always their own, and that successes felt immensely rewarding. Shacknews disliked the game's boss sequences, saying death to an enemy rather than the environment felt "irksome". PC Gamer said that Celeste "wields difficulty in a meaningful way", and Push Square and Hardcore Gamer both described the game's difficulty as a "true" test of the player's skill. The inclusion of Assist Mode was praised. Nintendo Life praised its implementation, customizability, and unintrusiveness, and Hardcore Gamer found that it was an "innovative way to make the game truly accessible to everyone". Rock Paper Shotgun said that Assist Mode solved the problem of difficulty "so elegantly that everyone should be paying attention".
Reviewers praised Celeste's plot. The game's setting was described by Nintendo Life as "vibrant and fantastical", and some considered the theme of climbing a mountain to be a metaphor for difficulties of life. Hardcore Gamer described the characters of Celeste as a "terrific, memorable lot", and reviewers further described them as "lovable", or easy to relate to. Polygon described Theo as a "lighthearted, constant foil" to Badeline, and the dialogue overall was praised, with Hardcore Gamer saying that it helped to "flesh out" the characters, and VideoGamer.com appreciated how it further contributed to the narrative being relatable. The story was considered by critics to be "heartfelt", "touching", or "heartwarming", and some felt that it was a 'timely' narrative, while others found it to be inspirational. Reviewers appreciated how the story reflected the gameplay, though Paste said that the execution of an interconnected gameplay and narrative was "a little awkward", saying that "Celeste definitely works better as a game than as a thought-provoking exploration of mental illness", despite them otherwise appreciating the game's depiction of depression and anxiety.
The visuals and audio of Celeste were praised. The game's pixel art was praised by critics—Ars Technica and Nintendo Life said it had a strong amount of variety, and Polygon said it made the game's characters and environments look "vibrant and memorable". The art style present in cutscenes was also praised, with Eurogamer calling it "beautifully simple", and Nintendo Life and GameSpot appreciating how it blended with the pixel art. Nintendo Life further commented that the animations were "fluid and varied", and Rock Paper Shotgun said that Madeline's actions were "exquisitely animated". The soundtrack was praised too; several critics said it was among the best video game soundtracks, and others appreciated how it complimented the gameplay. IGN said that it added an "amazing amount of life" to each area, and Kotaku said that "Anxiety" in particularly captured "the feeling of true anxiety". Reviewers felt that it remained enjoyable to listen to even after extended periods of time, and certain aspects of the music were praised, such as the synthesizer and piano portions. Critics also praised the remixes of songs present in the B-side levels.
Reviewing Farewell, Kotaku said that it was "the perfect capstone" and "a wonderful sendoff" to Celeste, and USgamer said that it really felt "like a farewell" to the game. Kotaku praised the chapter's mechanics, saying that they "play with expectations" by "constantly reinvent[ing]" themselves, and that the levels present in Farewell were "some of the finest and most rewarding" challenges in Celeste, and "some of the best designed levels of any game". However, USgamer said they were unable to complete the chapter due to its difficulty, adding that the base game's B-side and C-side levels similarly caused them to "hit a wall". Farewell's music was praised by Kotaku, who said it was "fantastic", and that the world as a whole was "charming".

### Fan community

After release, Celeste developed a dedicated fanbase, including an active speedrunning community. Certain Celeste players have created custom levels for the game using mods. According to USgamer, the game's community was "a huge part of Celeste's success". Kotaku said that Celeste "attracted an audience that's undeniably queer", and reported that many queer members of the Celeste community felt "empowered" by the game, and that Madeline's character arc felt evocative of the struggles faced by members of the LGBTQ community. Celeste has also received several user-created mods.
Speedrunning was something actively considered by the game's designers. As a speedrunner himself, Celeste sound designer Kevin Regamey contributed to the game accommodating speedrunning, and noted that the development team wanted to make speedrunning more accessible to casual players. Several techniques discovered by speedrunners were formally implemented into the game in updates. According to Thorson, the team wanted to allow the best players to continually discover new tricks that can be used by less skilled players. Mechanics are adjusted to accommodate players who wish to perform advanced techniques, though it is often done subtly to preserve the feeling of "breaking" the game. The development team conversed with members of the community to better accommodate speedrunning in certain updates. Members of the Celeste speedrunning community generally appreciate the involvement of the developers, and have praised how changes to the game do not patch or otherwise prevent techniques used in speedruns. Others feel that the act of speedrunning Celeste ties into the game's themes of perseverance.

### Accolades

Upon release, Celeste received several nominations and accolades, including for Game of the Year, from outlets and award shows. IGN nominated Celeste for Game of the Year in its 2018 'Best of' awards. The game was ranked by Polygon as the fifth best game of 2018, and ranked by USgamer as the second best game of 2018. Celeste was Shacknews' Best Indie Game of 2018, and Ars Technica considered it to be the best game overall in 2018.
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2018 | Independent Games Festival Awards | Excellence in Audio | Nominated |
| 2018 | Independent Games Festival Awards | Audience Award | Won |
| 2018 | Golden Joystick Awards | Ultimate Game of the Year | Nominated |
| 2018 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best Indie Game | Nominated |
| 2018 | The Game Awards 2018 | Game of the Year | Nominated |
| 2018 | The Game Awards 2018 | Best Score/Music | Nominated |
| 2018 | The Game Awards 2018 | Games for Impact | Won |
| 2018 | The Game Awards 2018 | Best Independent Game | Won |
| 2018 | Gamers' Choice Awards | Fan Favorite Game | Nominated |
| 2018 | Gamers' Choice Awards | Fan Favorite Single Player Gaming Experience | Nominated |
| 2018 | Gamers' Choice Awards | Fan Favorite Indie Game | Nominated |
| 2018 | Titanium Awards | Best Indie Game | Nominated |
| 2019 | 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Action Game of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | 22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game | Won |
| 2019 | SXSW Gaming Awards | Excellence in Narrative | Nominated |
| 2019 | SXSW Gaming Awards | Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award | Won |
| 2019 | SXSW Gaming Awards | Excellence in Musical Score | Nominated |
| 2019 | SXSW Gaming Awards | Trending Game of the Year | Nominated |
| 2019 | SXSW Gaming Awards | Video Game of the Year | Nominated |
| 2019 | Game Developers Choice Awards | Game of the Year | Nominated |
| 2019 | Game Developers Choice Awards | Best Audio | Won |
| 2019 | Game Developers Choice Awards | Best Design | Nominated |
| 2019 | 2019 Game Audio Network Guild Awards | Best Music for an Indie Game | Nominated |
| 2019 | 2019 Game Audio Network Guild Awards | G.A.N.G. / MAGFEST People's Choice Award | Won |
| 2019 | 15th British Academy Games Awards | Best Game | Nominated |
| 2019 | 15th British Academy Games Awards | Game Beyond Entertainment | Nominated |
| 2019 | 15th British Academy Games Awards | Game Design | Nominated |
| 2019 | 15th British Academy Games Awards | Game Innovation | Nominated |
| 2019 | 15th British Academy Games Awards | Music | Nominated |
| 2019 | ASCAP Composers' Choice Awards | 2018 Video Game Score of the Year | Won |

## Legacy

Prior to release, Berry commented that a potential sequel to Celeste was not currently planned, saying that the team "told the story [they] wanted to tell". Before the release of Farewell, Thorson said that the team "really [does not] want to make a sequel" to Celeste, adding that the team is unaware how they would be able to "do a sequel justice", and that they are "way more interested in making something new" than revisiting an old creation. In a blog post commemorating the game's fourth anniversary in 2022, Thorson said, "I do not want to make Celeste again and I do not want to be who I was when we made Celeste, again", and that she would like to move forward with future projects.
On Celeste's third anniversary on January 26, 2021, a sequel to Celeste Classic, known as Celeste 2: Lani's Trek, was released. The sequel stars a new character, Lani, who makes use of a grappling hook to interact with objects and climb Celeste Mountain. The game was developed in three days by Thorson, Berry, and Raine, and released for PICO-8. To celebrate Celeste's sixth anniversary in January 2024, the game's developers released Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain, a short three-dimensional platform game inspired by games for the Nintendo 64. It was designed to continue the narrative of Celeste.
Hardcore Gaming 101 included Celeste in a 2020 addendum to their book The 200 Best Video Games of All Time, and USA Today ranked it as the fourteenth best game of all time in 2022.