Celeste

Celeste is a singleplayer side view and scrolling action and platform game.

On Windows, the FNA version of the game supports more controllers than the XNA version (notably DualShock 4).^[1]

General information

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Collector's Edition
Epic Games Store		v1.4. Limited to the FNA version on Windows.^[2] DRM-free when launched directly from executable.
Humble Store
itch.io		v1.4
Microsoft Store		v1.3.3. XNA version only.^[3] Xbox Play Anywhere. Included with Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Steam		v1.4
Discord (unavailable)

Monetization

Type	Notes
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

Microtransactions

Type	Notes
No microtransactions	Game does not contain any microtransactions.

Celeste Classic can be played through a web browser on itch.io. It is also an unlockable minigame within Celeste.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Chapter 9: Farewell	Free DLC containing over 100 levels released on September 9, 2019.^[4]

Version differences

Windows

There are two versions available on Windows: an XNA version and an FNA version.

Discord, itch.io, and Steam include both versions. Only the FNA version is available on the Epic Games Store, while the Microsoft Store only has the XNA version.

The FNA version of the game uses SDL2, which has better controller compatibility than XNA.^[1]

Discord: Launch the FNA version^[5]
Launch Discord and navigate to the library. Click on the downwards pointing arrow to the right side of the Play button for the game. Select Celeste OpenGL.

itch.io: Download the FNA version^[5]
Navigate to the download page on itch.io. Download Celeste Windows (FNA). Extract the archive to an appropriate location. Launch the game using `Celeste.exe`.

Steam: Change to the FNA version^[1]
In the Steam library, select the game, `Right-click` on it and select Properties. Open the Betas tab. Change Select the beta you would like to opt into to `beta-1.3.3.0 - v1.4.0.0 (FNA)` and click Close. Steam should automatically download and install the FNA version. Once the installation is complete, launch the game normally.

Essential improvements

Skip intro logos and autosaving notice

Modify the game executable^{[citation needed]}

These instructions are for game version 1.4.0.0 (Steam build 6458966).

Open Celeste.exe in a hex editor such as HxD.
At offset 0xFB433 replace 0x3B with 0x3E.
Save the change.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Saves\settings.celeste^{[Note 1]}
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MattMakesGamesInc.Celeste_79daxvg0dq3v6\SystemAppData\wgs\ %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MattMakesGamesInc.Celeste_79daxvg0dq3v6\Settings\settings.dat
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Library/Application Support/Celeste/Saves/settings.celeste
Linux	$XDG_DATA_HOME/Celeste/Saves/settings.celeste

This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Saves\*.celeste^{[Note 1]} <path-to-game>\Saves\debug.celeste^{[Note 1]}
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MattMakesGamesInc.Celeste_79daxvg0dq3v6\SystemAppData\wgs\
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Library/Application Support/Celeste/Saves
Linux	$XDG_DATA_HOME/Celeste/Saves

* corresponds to the number of the in-game save slot from 0 to 2 for a total of 3 slots.

debug.celeste is made if the ~debug option on the title screen is used.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Discord
Epic Games Launcher
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

General settings.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Scaled from 320x180.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		16:9 pillarboxed.^[6]
4K Ultra HD		There is no resolution option in-game. The Adjust Screen Size option is for scaling to fit the screen and resolution.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		3D models in menus are not anti-aliased.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS		See Uncapped frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Uncapped frame rate

Patch Celeste.exe

This may affect the game physics slightly.

It's recommended to cap the FPS to the monitor's refresh rate using Vertical sync (Vsync).

The PICO-8 Minigame speeds up when playing over 60 FPS, making it almost unplayable. Capping it back to 60 seems to fix this issue.

Go to https://github.com/dmarcuse/CelesteUncapped/releases.
Download, extract, and open the latest CelesteUncapped.zip.
Open <path-to-game>\.
Drag and drop Celeste.exe onto CelesteUncapped.exe.

Input

Controller remapping.

Keyboard remapping.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		No mouse support.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers		Only supported natively on Windows by the FNA version of the game. XNA users must use an XInput wrapper.
DualShock button prompts		FNA version only.
Light bar support		FNA version only.
Connection modes	Wired, Wireless adapter V2 tested.

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		Can be reduced or disabled.
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Steam Input
Steam Input API support
Hook input (legacy mode)
Official controller preset(s)
Steam Controller button prompts
Cursor detection

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, Sounds
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		The FNA version does not mute on focus lost. The XNA version always mutes on focus lost.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				Canadian English.
Simplified Chinese
French
German
Hebrew				Fan translation, download.
Hungarian				Fan translation, download.
Italian
Japanese
Korean				Fan translation, download.
Polish				Fan translation, download.
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish

Issues Fixed

Problems rendering through DXVK/Wine (v1.4 FNA version)

Force FNA driver^[7]
Set the `FNA3D_FORCE_DRIVER` environment variable to either `Vulkan` or `OpenGL` before launching.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c, 11	On Windows, the XNA version uses Direct3D 9 and the FNA version uses Direct3D 11 since v1.4.^[8]
OpenGL	2.1, 3.0	The FNA version used OpenGL prior to v1.4.
Metal support		The FNA version has supported Metal since v1.4.^[8]

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux			The itch.io DRM-free download offers both executables in one archive.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	FMOD
Input	SDL2	FNA version only.

Debug Mode

Enable debug mode

Go to the save folder.
Open settings.celeste.
At the line <LaunchInDebugMode>, replace false by true.

Notes

Launching the ~debug option on the title screen will make a save file debug.celeste in the Saves folder.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3-380M
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1200 MB
Video card (GPU)	Intel HD Graphics 4000 DirectX 10 compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.7.5
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3-380M
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1200 MB
Video card (GPU)	OpenGL 2.1 with ARB compatible	OpenGL 3.0 compatible

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Linux
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	glibc 2.17
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3-380M
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1200 MB
Video card (GPU)	OpenGL 2.1 with ARB compatible	OpenGL 3.0 compatible

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Steam Community - PS4 Controllers on PC - last accessed on 2018-04-28
"Alternatively you can use the OpenGL Beta branch (by changing it in Celeste's Steam settings by right clicking the app). The OpenGL version of the game runs on FNA & SDL2, which has more controller support than XNA."
↑ Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-08-30
The DirectX version is nowhere to be found after having downloaded the game.
↑ Verified by User:Baronsmoki on 2021-10-19
The game failed to respond to input from a DualShock 4.
↑ Extremely OK Games - Hello, and Farewell - last accessed on 2019-09-06
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-08-30
↑ 21:9 aspect ratio ?? - last accessed on 2020-11-16
↑ https://github.com/FNA-XNA/FNA/wiki/7%3A-FNA-Environment-Variables#fna3d_force_driver
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 Steam News - Celeste - V1.4.0.0 Changelog - last accessed on 2021-10-17
"Updated to the latest version of FNA, introducing FNA3D. This means the FNA version can run DirectX on Windows and Metal on Mac"

[gamedir-6] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[opengl-playstation4-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Steam Community - PS4 Controllers on PC - last accessed on 2018-04-28
"Alternatively you can use the OpenGL Beta branch (by changing it in Celeste's Steam settings by right clicking the app). The OpenGL version of the game runs on FNA & SDL2, which has more controller support than XNA."

[2] Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-08-30
The DirectX version is nowhere to be found after having downloaded the game.

[3] Verified by User:Baronsmoki on 2021-10-19
The game failed to respond to input from a DualShock 4.

[4] Extremely OK Games - Hello, and Farewell - last accessed on 2019-09-06

[aemony-2019-08-30-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-08-30

[7] 21:9 aspect ratio ?? - last accessed on 2020-11-16

[8] ttps://github.com/FNA-XNA/FNA/wiki/7%3A-FNA-Environment-Variables#fna3d_force_driver

[1.4_fna-9] 8.0 ^8.1 Steam News - Celeste - V1.4.0.0 Changelog - last accessed on 2021-10-17
"Updated to the latest version of FNA, introducing FNA3D. This means the FNA version can run DirectX on Windows and Metal on Mac"

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[Note 1]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Developers

	Extremely OK Games
Linux	Ethan Lee
Engines
Windows, OS X, Linux	Monocle Engine
Windows, OS X, Linux	FNA
Windows	XNA
Release dates
Windows	January 25, 2018
macOS (OS X)	January 25, 2018
Linux	January 25, 2018
Reception
Metacritic	88
OpenCritic	92
IGDB	91
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Side view, Scrolling
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Platform
Art styles	Cartoon, Pixel art
Themes	Contemporary, North America, Fantasy