Celeste (2018)

Fuck dude, this game gets me so mad. It might be the casual nature of dying, how quickly you respawn, the fact that I played on JoyCons, or any of the other rage-inducing features but either way, I would slam my desk and then proceed to pick it right back up and try again. In my first playthrough I died over 2000 times and it took me 8 hours to complete, and I didn't even get a third of all the strawberries or attempt the side-quest rooms. Somehow, after all that trial and error, the game still made me feel like I made a real accomplishment when I reached the summit. The controls are simple, you can jump and you can dash, and luckily the devs got these right. They feel tight, responsive, and satisfying even on a handheld Nintendo Switch. They're so responsive, in fact, that it makes every death feel like it's only YOUR fault. There were few if any times throughout the game where I felt as if some game mechanic was unfair or too difficult. When I died 100 times on the same room, I still had only myself to blame.

The story is just like the gameplay: simple and effective. There's few characters, and most dialogue is internal (no spoilers), and there's no voice acting, only text. This is perfect for the battle of hatred and self-sabotage it is trying to portray, and I even found myself tearing up at some points because of how human and relatable the characters felt.

Overall, I am glad I started this game, and even more happy that I saw it all the way through. If you're up for a platforming challenge, I think this is an absolute must-play.