Why didn't I ever play this more?

For the final game in my Christmas 2025 block, I am given a game I haven't played in a very long ass time. Nearly 3 years since I played Celeste. That's uh... wow... yikes. I'm honestly ashamed I haven't played this since. It's such a good game. I guess with the heaps of piles of games I already own, this one just got very lost in the pile. Nevertheless, I am back, and back to cleaning up some old dudes... hotel... resort... whatever the hell it is.

So jumping in and it dumps me right where I last left off. Where did I last leave off? I guess some small corridor area. After refamiliarizing myself with the controls, I make my way onward. Trying my best and also failing to avoid those evil blobs that are out to get me. Each section isn't necessarily difficult nor extremely easy. It's only when I try to go for my first strawberry where once I fall, I have to boost to get over the blobbed up wall, wall jump over to the first boost recharge, boost, get up to the 2nd one, boost again, and maneuver my way around the more evil blobs and land down safely. Could I have not taken the berry? Sure. But dammit it was worth it once I finally cleared that part and I was able to free the... I don't know it looks like a fucking cereal box. Some stuff gets sucked into some cupboards and I fall back to the main area and find Mr. Oshiro... man you know I haven't played this game in a long time when he still calls me Milli. Remember that name? I just call her by MI-18A now. He is really insistent that his staff will take care of the cleaning... I have not once seen any staff here. A couple more areas open up and I check out the one that opened on the lower right. It definitely starts with a lot of tight squeezes where you have to avoid those red blobs of death. And they don't move slowly... at all. Once I make it to the bottom right corner, I have the choice of going right or down. Going right shows me the strawberry. This one isn't nearly as bad to get. I just have to make sure I give myself room to go back. Heading down now, the next section isn't too horrible. Some may say I got through it my first try. Even as fast as those death blobs were going. It was just a matter of going at the right time and utilizing all the boost refills. I made the next section seem harder than it needed to be. To be fair I don't know why you had the option of going to the upper left area when there was nothing there. Another strawberry is encapsulated inside this sideways five looking thing with death blobs that are sliding side to side to get my ass. Didn't get it my first try but didn't take me very long at all to get it. I head up and free what looks like a treasure chest. I meet back up with Mr. Oshiro. Surely he'll be very appreciative of my work now right?

Nope. He really just wants me to relax as apparently now he is doing the cleaning... I thought his crew was doing the cleaning? In the final section, I meet up with Theo. Looks like he's having no interesting hanging out here. Can't say as I blame him. As much as he wants Madeline to leave with him, she reluctantly decides to stay to clean up the place. She lets Theo go on without her. So one more section to clean up... assuming I can get past the first set of death blobs holy shit. The way they're moving makes it hard as balls to find a good timing place to blast through. The only way I actually got through it was by not thinking about it at all. The next few sections like before aren't hard hard... but not easy easy. And sometimes it's more about me making sure I hold the right buttons and sometimes I don't. But don't blame me, blame the Switch Pro Controller. I swear you think you're holding just up and NOPE it's up and right or left! But I make it through and free the... sea shell...? sure. Oh and I guess now that I cleaned the hotel, it's now closed!... so I did all that for nothing? Oh but it sure was an honor for the guests to visit and enjoy the best experience possible... assuming this old fuck had guests. There's a PICO-8 hidden off to the right. I don't really spend any time playing that. But if you want to know where it is, now you know! I am finally able to access a key now that every single bit of clutter is just gone and I open the door to find Mr. Oshiro on the other side. How he even got on the other side is beyond fucking me. He is very eager to show me my room. It's just a little ways above me. Just a few death blobs to get past. One of the next sections is one of the more challenging ones I face. Having to utilize boost refills to activate four... I don't know what the fuck you call them. You touch them all and then it makes the platform move. Took me 8 or so minutes to get past this one screen. I did though find a consistent strategy on how to traverse the area knowing those boost refills do reappear on screen. But even then. That was nothing compared to getting the next strawberry in this next section that took me 40 some fucking minutes to do. Yeah... this section was hell. This section was about preserving room and mentally making the correct path.

All around here are those little fuzzy red hairs where when you stand on them, it becomes deadly goop. And given that I have to re-land on these platforms means that I cannot stand on all the hairs at once. And the way the platforms are arranged don't make it easy. Again, not completely impossible. But it's not a cake walk. Now I'm sure there's maybe another way to do it. But the way I did it was by on the bottom most platform, raising up as little goop as possible. Only on the very edges at first. Then on the 2 platforms above, trying to land as far right on them as possible without touching the wall of goop in the process. If I do that, I can get the strawberry, go back on the raised 2 platforms. Now on the left sides. And then boost my way over to a tight, not too tight little falling section I have to traverse through, collecting a boost refill in the process so I can land safely down to the solid platform. Sure, I could've avoided getting the strawberry altogether... but dammit I wanted satisfaction. I did find said strategy to be the best working one. It was just a matter of executing it properly. Even when I did, there was one last test to get across. Just a simple wall jump, boost up, and another wall jump. Easy right? WRONG! Apparently it's really hard to hold up and instead you and by you I mean I end up holding right. Sometimes it's just tiny ass mistakes like that that could be easily avoided if I just pushed the right fucking buttons. And you'd think I'd learn my mistake after last time right? HEHE NO OF COURSE NOT! So that's MORE time I have to spend trying to get back to that final wall jump section. That is of course if I can and just not fall into the death goop. But it doesn't matter because even when I do get the first wall jump off... I STILL HOLD RIGHT! What the fuck is wrong with me? I swear each time I am for sure holding up. But the game is like... oh no no no you are indeed holding right. But even when I do hold the right button, I do it so fucking slowly because I am too careful that I can't reach the 2nd wall and I fall in the damn goop. Mind you I had a job to go to in like 7 hours from the point I was at. But holy shit I was so determined to complete this damn section.

Eventually, after what felt like fucking eons, I finally made the 2nd wall and was able to jump off it and safely make it to the next section. And that's where I logged off for the night. Holy fuck that took longer than it should've. But it felt so damn good to get it done. Ending 2025 on a high note! I tell you... what a wild year it's been. Especially going through such a change. Ending essentially a long story I created and finally going back to being none other than me, myself, and I. Not pretending to be 300 different characters. Nope. Just me. And that's how it's going to be for the next... few decades or so. And believe me... I have big things coming in 2026 which I am super excited to share! It is quite literally going to be a big year. Starting of course with my annual New Winter Games Block!

Fair warning, this block will make the others seem... sad and wimpy...