About a year ago I downloaded a virtual console called Pico-8, an 8 bit style console where all the games are coded in Lua. There was one game on there that stood out - a 2D platformer called Celeste. So a few months ago when I heard a full version was being made, I made a mental note to keep a lookout for it.
It is brilliant. It somehow manages to be unique, which is basically impossible when it comes to 2D platformers. Usually you can sort them into a category ("Oh, it's a bit like Super Meat Boy"), but Celeste doesn't really fit into a box. I like every aspect of the game, the music, the mechanics, the art style, it's just perfect.
The gameplay is fairly simple, but has a lot of depth. For example, you can go through the entire game just using the basic jump, dash and grab with no issues, but there are ways you can chain moves together to go through the game at a rapid pace and complete levels in different ways. It is hard, but it isn't one of those games where the difficulty level is the main attraction.
As you progress through the game, you start learning how to move through screens optimally without really pausing for long to think about it, so it flows really well. You can also pick up a shit ton of collectables, and they are actually fun to get, it doesn't feel like a grind. In fact, getting all of the collectables probably unlocks more content than is in the normal game. There is a B and C sides to every chapter that is unlocked by picking various stuff up, plus an extra chapter that you can unlock after the epilogue. You could probably spend 50+ hours or more trying to complete all of the chapters and pick everything up, which is some good shit for $20.
10/10 would screech at my dog for interrupting my playthrough of the last chapter again.
I was on-board until the dog screeching. Rude as fuck/10