Burning or Freezing

**Burning or Freezing** is the third subchapter of Chapter 8: Core B-Side in Celeste. The subchapter increases the difficulty from the previous subchapter and has rooms where the player must change the temperature in the middle of platforming and adapt accordingly.

## **Gameplay**

Ice ball and fire ball cycles are critical to pay attention to in many rooms of this subchapter. The player will need to make decisions from far away about what the pattern will look like at the point they reach a part of the room, as well as needing to be quite precise with dashes to make it by even with the right timing. Stalling on conveyor walls until the time is right is also utilized here a couple times.

### **Strategies**

Room 1

This room is very small and can be tricky to do unless you watch the fire balls. Watch the first pair of fire balls as you stand on the left ledge, preparing to jump to the launching block. Jump onto the middle part of the launching block when the fire balls are at the bottom-left and top-right, launching yourself straight up. Dash straight right, fall down, then dash straight right again and grab the conveyor wall. If you just hold the grab button, you'll be brought up from the conveyor wall to the platform above, then you should climb up it following the fire ball. Wait until just before the fire ball coming from behind reaches you and jump to the right and grab the small platform on the right. Hold there until the fire ball below passes and then you can fall to grab the wall on the left. Now, while holding the grab button, watch the fire ball at the top right of the screen. When it's at the top-right of its pattern, jump to the right and ride the conveyor wall, then release to be boosted up to right by the fire ball. Wall jump to the left, then wall jump to the right to pass the fire ball and complete the room.

Room 2

Walk off the ledge and land on the launching block a bit on the right side and boost yourself up, then line up a straight right dash through the gap in the crystals and you'll flip the hot/cold switch. Bounce on the newly transformed bumper below, then do another straight right dash through the next gap of crystals to the right which will flip another hot/cold switch. You'll then have to grab a launching block to your left at its middle, then you'll be perfectly launched to the right into another hot/cold switch and avoid the crystals above and below. Run to the right on the shattering block you arrive at and jump and climb the next shattering block to the right. Wall jump to the left and wall jump back right off the ice wall and grab the third shattering block and climb onto it. Run across this one and jump off at the edge to reach one more shattering block, which you can run across and then jump off to reach the end.

Room 3

This room is filled with rising ice balls in a tricky arrangement of crystals. For the most consistency, exit and enter the room to get the first cycle which will align the following perfectly. After entering, run right and jump right to soft bounce on an ice ball, then shortly after dash diagonally up-right twice in quick succession. Keep holding right and hold down the jump button and you'll bounce off of two ice balls and then be caught at a slight dip in the ceiling. From here, fall down, then move slightly left when you pass the spikes to softly bounce on an ice ball and collect a dash crystal. Bounce up from the ice ball on the left you land on, then shortly after begin holding right and the jump button and you'll bounce on ice balls a couple more times. Dash diagonally up-right twice just when Madeline is just around the bottom-right of the heart in the background. After dashing twice, you'll be able to bounce directly upward on an ice ball, then bounce up on the next ice ball below while moving right to bounce on another ice ball and reach the key token needed to open the exit of the room. Move left after collecting the key token and stay in place as you fall and bounce on ice balls directly below you. Then, on the last ice ball below you before falling into the pit, bounce up and move to the right to bounce on another ice ball and keep moving right to reach a bumper. Land slightly on the right side of the bumper to bounce yourself over the crystals on the right. Bounce up on the ice balls to the right until you're low enough to bounce to the right into the dash crystal. Then, dash up-right and up-left into the bumper which will bounce you all the way to the end of the room if you just climb up the right wall.

Room 4

Jump to the right and wall jump off the ice wall on the right, then dash straight up and up-right to flip the hot/cold switch. Ride the conveyor wall to your left and release at the top and hold right to make it to another conveyor wall. Grab this one and release at the top and move to the right, collecting the dash crystal, then grab the one on the right side. Release the grab button and move right at about halfway up the conveyor wall, then do a dash straight right, then fall and do another dash straight right to reach another platform with conveyor walls on both sides. Repeat the previous process, and at the end do a dash straight right and up-right accordingly to make it to another one of these. For this one, you only need to ride up the conveyor wall a little bit before letting go and moving right, doing a dash up-right, then soon after straight right, to reach one last platform. Ride the conveyor wall all the way up and you'll reach the ending ledge.

Room 5

Tons of fire ball pairs spinning in circles will be all over this room. The strategies to get around them can vary depending on the style of play, but no matter what it's important to be cautious with your stamina. Jump to the first conveyor wall and ride up it when the pair of fire balls above are at their top and bottom points. Grab the right side of the platform you just rode up, then climb up and wait until you can jump right and grab another conveyor wall. On this next conveyor wall, stall by tapping and releasing the grab button until you can do a small jump over the platform to grab the right side of it, then jump to the right again above the fire balls below. Ride up the next conveyor wall, then use your two dashes carefully to make your way to the dash crystal on the right. Keep going right from there and try to aim a straight right dash to the last platform where there is no fire ball. Stall slightly until you can do a small jump over to reach the right side, then stall again if needed before riding up and moving right, using your other dash to make it to the end.

Room 6

Jump to the right and do two dashes up-right to land on the dash crystal. These dashes can be timed at whatever point is needed in the cycle in order to not be hit by a fire ball. As soon as you reclaim your dashes, do another two dashes up-right to get to another dash crystal. From here, you can do a straight up dash into a straight right dash or wait to do a diagonal dash, then do one more dash to the right to get to another dash crystal. At this point, you should be able to do two diagonally up-right dashes and touch the hot/cold switch, and from there you should start bouncing on the ice balls to the right. Always be holding down the jump button in this section and try to make progress to the right whenever possible. Collect the next dash crystal, then continue to the three ice balls circling the hot/cold switch. Try to clear out all three of these before flipping the switch. Time a straight up and up-right dash to reach the next dash crystal, then repeat to make it to the hot/cold switch. An ice barrier will appear to your left when this happens and you'll need to quickly make it to an ice ball to bounce on it. Make sure you pay attention to where the fire balls are going to be at the point when you flip the hot/cold switch. Do some bounces with the jump button held down and you'll be able to reach the end of the room smoothly.