Getting Started

Getting Started Guide for Celeste

Welcome to Celeste, a challenging and deeply rewarding precision platformer. This guide is designed to help brand-new players survive their first hour, understand the basics, and avoid common pitfalls. There is no character creation—you play as Madeline, a young woman with a distinct personality and backstory.

First Hour Walkthrough (No Spoilers)

1. Opening Cutscene (5 minutes): The game begins with a short, atmospheric cutscene showing Madeline arriving at the base of Celeste Mountain. You gain control immediately afterward.
2. Chapter 1: Forsaken City – The Basics (15-20 minutes):
- Tutorial Room: You start in a small room with a sign. This teaches you to jump (A on controller, Z on keyboard), climb (hold grab button), and dash (dash button). Do not skip these signs.
- First Screen: Jump over a small gap, climb a wall, dash across a gap. The game teaches you that you can only dash once until you touch the ground or a wall (but you can refresh by touching a wall or ground).
- Strawberries & Cassette Tapes: You'll see red strawberries optional collectibles. Don't worry about getting them all now; focus on finishing the level. Cassette tapes unlock B-sides (harder versions) later, but ignore them on your first playthrough.
- First Death: You will die. A lot. The game encourages you with a short respawn (0.5 seconds). Each death is a learning experience.
- End of Chapter 1: You'll meet Granny, a key NPC, and receive your first crystal heart by completing the level.
3. Between Chapters (5 minutes): You enter the overworld map. You can talk to NPCs, revisit completed chapters, or continue to the next. Talk to everyone once.
4. Chapter 2: Old Site – First Difficulty Spike (15-20 minutes):
- Introduces moving platforms, crumbling blocks, and spikes. You'll learn wall-jumping (jump while sliding down a wall) and more advanced movement.
- You'll also encounter your first dream block (blue blocks that disappear when you dash through them).
- Key Lesson: Patience. Observe the pattern before moving.
5. End of First Hour: You should be at the start of Chapter 3 or have completed Chapter 2. You have likely died 50-100 times. That is normal.

Controls (All Platforms)

Celeste uses simple controls but precise inputs. Here is the mapping:

| Jump | Z | A (bottom face) | X (left face) | B (right face)
| Climb / Hold | X | RT / RB | R2 / R1 | ZR / R (shoulder)
| Dash | C | LT / LB | L2 / L1 | ZL / L (shoulder)
| Confirm / Interact | Enter / Space | A | X | A (right face) |
| Pause / Menu | Escape | Start / Menu | Options / Touchpad | + |

Note on climbing: Hold the climb button to grab walls. When climbing, you can jump off walls (wall jump) by pressing jump while holding toward the wall. You can also dash while holding onto a wall.

Assist Mode: If you're struggling, you can enable Assist Mode from the pause menu (Options > Assist Mode). This lets you reduce game speed, grant infinite dashes, or skip rooms. It's not cheating—use it if needed.

UI Overview

• Top-Left Corner: Number of Strawberries collected in current chapter (0/30 usually).


• Top-Right Corner: Death count for the current session (cumulative).


• Center-Top (occasionally): Golden Strawberry counter if you're attempting a perfect run.


• D-Pad Down: Quick retry button (restarts current room). Use it often.


• Pause Menu: Options (sound, controls, assist mode), Save & Quit, Return to Title.




Essential Early Objectives



1. Complete Chapter 1. Don't worry about strawberries or secret hearts.
2. Learn to wall jump. It's the most important advanced technique.
3. Talk to Granny after Chapter 1 to understand the story.
4. Collect the crystal heart at the end of each chapter (automatically given for finishing).
5. Try Chapter 2 immediately after Chapter 1.



What to Do First & What to Avoid



Do:

• Read every sign. They teach you mechanics.


• Experiment with dashes in the air and against walls.


• Take breaks if frustrated. The game rewards patience.


• Use the quick retry (D-Pad Down / R1) to reset a room instantly.


Avoid:

• Skipping the tutorial signs.


• Trying to get all strawberries on first playthrough (they cause extra deaths).


• Rushing into dangerous areas without observing.


• Comparing your death count to others. 1000+ deaths is normal.




Early Resource Priorities




• Strawberries: Optional, give a +1 to your death count mockingly but no gameplay benefit until later (they unlock a special room but not needed).


• Crystal Hearts: One per chapter, required for true ending. Always grab the first one (it's given).


• Cassette Tapes: Unlock B-side levels. Not needed early; skip unless you're a completionist.


• Golden Strawberries: Extremely high-risk collectibles that require beating a level without dying. Avoid entirely until you've beaten the game.




Common Beginner Mistakes



1. Dashing too early. Before crossing gaps, wait until the moment you're about to fall to reach maximum distance.
2. Holding climb while jumping off walls. You lose the ability to jump. Release climb before jumping.
3. Not using the quick retry. Manually walking back to the death spot wastes time. D-Pad Down resets instantly.
4. Ignoring wall jumps. Many rooms require wall jumping up tight spaces.
5. Trying to collect everything. Focus on reaching the flag (save point) at the end of each room.
6. Overusing Assist Mode. It can break the intended difficulty curve. Use it sparingly.



Day-One Checklist




• [ ] Read all tutorial signs in Chapter 1.


• [ ] Complete Chapter 1 (Forsaken City).


• [ ] Talk to Granny and any other NPCs on the map.


• [ ] Attempt Chapter 2 (Old Site) until the first major obstacle.


• [ ] Customize controls if default feels awkward (pause > Options > Controls).


• [ ] Enable Assist Mode if you're stuck for more than 30 minutes on one room (optional).


• [ ] Save and Quit properly to keep progress.

Final Tip: Embrace death. Each death is a lesson. The mountain is patient.