One of the most beloved indie games of recent memory, Celeste, is making a leap to a new platform. Billed as an “unofficial” port from developer Remi Parmentier for the Pico-8 virtual console, Celeste Classic on Playdate features a simpler visual design in comparison to the more colorful source material. This is technically a free game, but if you want to support Parmentier’s efforts, you can pay what you feel is fair for the game.
The most obvious change is the monochromatic color palette, but Pico-8 says that a lot of visual elements have an outline to make them more readable. In terms of resolution, this version of Celeste is actually an upgrade as it has been increased from the original game’s 128×128 resolution to 256×240. Four pixel lines are cropped at the top and bottom of the screen, and for purists, the game can be played at its original resolution by disabling the Fullscreen option.
Another change in Celeste Classic is a new and optional assist mode. When activated, it will allow you to skip a level, change the game speed to 0.5×, get infinite dashes, and enable invincibility. The catch here is that if you do use the assist mode during a run, a mention is added on each level in the lower right corner, as well as in the pause screen and the final score screen. Prepare for scorn from the more “hardcore” side of the Celeste community if you choose to go public with your runs.
For anyone looking to still order a Playdate console, the original $179 price is going away today. From April 7, the handheld will cost you $199 due to increased manufacturing costs. Manufacturer Panic also introduced an on-device store known as Catalog recently, which launched with 16 games.
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