Work Together?
3
Mica Murdoch
plain
2023-12-08T17:16:23+00:00
This screen comes after a harrowing boss fight against Badeline. Her swirling chaotic energies, dominated by streaks of black and purple, peer in oppressively from the background, trapping Madeline and the part of herself together. This background is juxtaposed by the tranquil grove where the two find themselves. In the midst of all this chaos, Badeline needs softness and forgiveness to move forward.
Critically, the player can only escape this room and continue the game by combining their two powers and gaining a new ability, necessary to complete the game. In "Reclaiming Agency," Vorazu writes about games with these themes, “mental anguish and distress are means of traversing the game and reaching an end point that is beneficial to her.” The journey of Celeste is Madeline learning not to be pursued by, or try to escape her anxiety, as that is a fruitless endeavor, and leads to her fall. By literally embracing her “mental anguish and distress,” suggesting that they work together, Madeline is able to to move forward and succeed.
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