Assist Mode

The Assist Mode Icon

Assist Mode is a special mode in Celeste which is toggleable anytime from the save slot menu. It enables access to several features that allow Madeline to progress in an easier way. These options allow players to alter the game mechanics to suit their gameplay style, as well as an accessibility option for people who suffer from disabilities preventing them from playing the game normally.

A special warning is given to players whom attempt to toggle Assist Mode for the first time. It goes as such:

“Assist Mode allows you to modify the game’s rules to fit your specific needs. This includes options such as slowing the game speed, granting yourself invincibility or infinite stamina, and skipping chapters entirely. Celeste is intended to be a challenging and rewarding experience. If the default game proves inaccessible to you, we hope that you can still find that experience with Assist Mode.”

~ Celeste main menu

Assists

Game speed

Allows the player to lower the game's speed down to 50%, by multiples of 10. Having a slower game speed gives the player more reaction time, making most obstacles much easier to avoid.

Using lower game speeds can also effect the game's physics, such as causing 5-jumps to clear 6 tiles. This is a small quirk caused by the slowdown, as the game runs at 60 FPS regardless of gamespeed; if the game is running at 50% speed, for instance, the game is functionally running at 120 FPS. This can make precise sections, such as the last room of 7C, slightly more difficult than normal.

Infinite Stamina

Grants the player unlimited stamina, allowing them to grab indefinitely. This can be useful for making difficult climbing challenges easier.

Air Dashes

Changes the amount of dashes the player has: Default, 2, or Infinite. Default will use the amount of dashes the player would normally have in the level, whether that is 1 or 2 dashes. 2 will set it to two dashes permanently. Infinite will allow unlimited dashes without needing to refill them or touch the ground, however, Madeline is still constrained to one dash every fifteen frames. In Infinite mode, Madeline's hair is permanently pink (turning white during dashes).

Dash Assist

Whenever the player holds the dash button, the game freezes and allows the player to alter the dash direction, stopping once the key/button is released. Useful for getting used to the dashing mechanics as well as for improving dash precision.

Invincibility

Renders the player immune to all obstacles and hazards, granting the player the ability to freely move through otherwise dangerous obstacles. If Madeline falls into a bottomless pit, she will bounce off of the bottom edge of the screen, and holding the jump button causes her to bounce higher. If the player would be crushed by a moving block, instead of killing the player, the block becomes intangible until the player moves out of the way. Dashing into the wall through a Dream Blocks causes the player to ricochet back. The only possible way to die with invincibility on is to get crushed by the falling Heart Gate in Farewell, although it should be noted that resetting via menu will also increase the death counter.

Assist Skip

Allows the player to skip a chapter entirely when on the chapter selection screen. This is only available when using Assist Mode and not Variant Mode, and can only be done in the chapter selection menu.

Trivia

• Dash Assist is not available in v.1.3.0.0.
• Upon release, Assist Mode's menu message was a bit different, mentioning that assists allow the player to reduce the game's difficulty, and that the intended playstyle for a first playthrough is to try it out without any of them. The text was tweaked in version 1.3.0.0 thanks to community feedback, as the message unintentionally could have sounded gatekeepy and be downplaying for people who struggle with the main game without using any assists.
  • The old message was: Assist Mode allows you to modify the game's rules to reduce its difficulty. This includes options such as slowing the game speed, granting yourself invincibility or infinite stamina, and skipping chapters entirely. Celeste was designed to be a challenging, but accessible game. We believe that its difficulty is essential to the experience. We recommend playing without Assist Mode for the first time. However, we understand that every player is different. If Celeste is inaccessible to you due to its difficulty, we hope that Assist Mode will still allow you to enjoy it.".
• Before update 1.3.0.0, Assist Mode was marked with a large stamp on the file card. Upon Farewell's release, it was replaced with the bird stamp that is rewarded upon completing Chapter 9, and Assist Mode is marked with a blue badge sticking out from the side.
  • The old stamp can still be found in the game's graphics dump, however it doesn't appear in the actual game anymore.
• With Debug Mode, if both the "assist" and "variant" commands are typed in, it's possible to have both menus at once. It's because normally the game automatically turns off assists if Variant Mode is enabled, and vice versa.