Acclaimed indie platformer Celeste has released a surprise follow-up today, marking the 6th anniversary of the original game’s release. Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain is a Nintendo 64 inspired 3D platformer that lets you explore Celeste Mountain in a new way, and can be downloaded now for free.
The game was released through Itch.io by the original Celeste team, and is available for both Windows and Linux PCs, with the devs recommending connecting a controller for this one. Celeste 64 can also be played on the Steam Deck by downloading the Windows version of the game and enabling Proton Experimental.
“Relive the magic of Celeste Mountain alongside Madeline in this small, heartfelt 3D platformer,” the description reads, noting that Celeste 64 was made in just a week to mark the anniversary.
The mini Celeste follow-up clearly takes inspiration from iconic 3D platformers of the Nintendo 64 era, and once again tasks players with collecting strawberries as they traverse the mountain. The game seems to draw especially from Super Mario 64, to the point where one player has already modded a version of Celeste 64 that has Madeline wearing Mario’s cap.
Commenters have warned that the game can be a little rough, with some reporting issues with stuttering and crashes, though this isn’t surprising for a game built on such a short timeframe. The Celeste team is already working to fix any bugs that have been reported so far. The devs have also released the source code for Celeste 64 on Github, for players who want to mess with the code directly.
The original Celeste was released in January 2018, and was praised by players and critics (GameSpot awarded it a 9/10) for both telling a powerful and moving story, and for its satisfying 2D platforming. Celeste is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Developer Extremely OK Games is working on its next title, Earthblade, which is due to release sometime in 2024.
