Celeste, the indie platformer that shook 2018's Game of the Year lists, is coming back in 2019 in a big way. Creator Matt Thorson has been teasing a free DLC pack for some time now, and while it's still some ways away from release, Thorson is ready to start sharing more details. Perhaps most prominent among those details is that this DLC chapter will be beyond Celeste's "current hardest levels in difficulty."
Thorson posted a tweet last Friday night with six details about the forthcoming Celeste DLC. Beyond its difficulty, he avoided mentioning any spoilers about the content itself.
- No release for Celeste's anniversary on Jan. 25
- One continuous chapter and no B-Side
- After current hardest levels in difficulty
- No strawberries
- Some new items and mechanics
- Free on all platforms
Previous information about the DLC is rather limited. Thorson's said that the new "farewell Celeste levels" would be available early in 2019 and they're very hard. And he also released a short "Work in Progress" gif showing a new tileset, which coincides with today's reveal that the DLC will be an entirely new chapter. That said, Celeste and its mountain have some secrets left to reveal, it seems.
It's no secret that Celeste has had a very successful year for an independently developed game. The gorgeous platformer ended up on dozens of Game of the Year lists and won several impressive awards. It also sold well, given that indie games typically sell an order of magnitude less than AAA games. Thorson confirmed over 500,000 sales for Celeste in 2018, which is certainly a milestone to be proud of. Not to mention, the title likely reached a large audience by being a selection in Xbox's Games With Gold.
It's still notable that despite Celeste's success Thorson has decided to invest so much time into releasing a free DLC pack across so many platforms. That development could just as easily have gone into their next project, but Thorson decided there was more left to be told for the indie game. It's truly a gift for Celeste's fans -- especially given that most Celeste players may never have the hand-eye coordination to reach the game's most challenging levels.
Celeste is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
