Dashing

A dash as indicated in Celeste's manual.

Dashing is a core Celeste tech that allows Madeline to relatively quickly cross distance in any of the eight compass directions. It is one of Madeline's distinctive moves. A dash can be performed by pressing the Dash key.

In Prologue, Madeline can't dash until the end cutscene. From Forsaken City to the second-last checkpoint of Reflection, Madeline can only dash once, as indicated by her red hair. In the last checkpoint of Reflection A-Side, The Summit, Core, and the first checkpoint of Farewell Madeline can dash twice, as shown by her pink hair. Madeline's hair turns white as she dashes, and cyan when she has no dashes remaining.

Normally, dashes can be refilled from Dash Refills, bubbles, screen transitions, entity boosts, and some other interactions. From Forsaken City to Summit, all dashes refill upon touching the ground. In Core, dashes do not refill on the ground, forcing the player to use them wisely. In Farewell, two dashes can be freely done only at the start; in other checkpoints, only one dash refills on the ground, but Madeline can obtain two dashes via a Double Dash Refill.

Functionality

Mechanical

Normal straight dashes set Madeline's speed to 240 pixels per second, and normal diagonal dashes set it to around 170. If Madeline has a faster speed, it will be kept, but if the dash is horizontal or up-diagonal, at the end of the dash the horizontal speed is set to 160 and quickly lowers due to friction. For vertical dashes, the vertical speed is set to 120. In the case of a down-diagonal dash, the speed is retained.

The dash lasts for 15 frames (including 3 freeze frames). The period of 6 frames after the dash is known as Dash Attack, since Madeline can interact with entities during it as if she is still in the dash state. However, this can be avoided by jumping or grabbing the block. You cannot begin another dash until it has ended (for 15 frames), even if the dash was canceled by entering another state (such as bouncing off a spring).

With other entities

Dashing into a Dash Block destroys it.

Dashing towards a particular entity may be a unique interaction. Some examples include:

• Dashing into a Dash Block (also called a Smashable Wall) destroys it, opening a (sometimes secret) path.
• Dashing into Dream Blocks allows to pass through them.
• Buttons can be pressed by dashing toward them.
• Kevin are triggered by dashing into one of their sides with a blue outline.
• Lightning Breaker Boxes (in Farewell) are activated by dashing toward them twice.
• Crystal Heart are usually claimed by dashing into them.

Related tech

Dashing is used in lots of tech. The most known Dash Techs are Superdashes, Wavedashes, Ultradashes, and Wallbounces.

Crouch dashes (also known as Demodashes) are dashes done when Madeline is crouched, making her hitbox 4 pixels instead of 9. Under many circumstances, they allow Madeline to phase through obstacles like dust bunnies or spinners, skipping challenging or long parts of a room or level.

Trivia

• Most likely, the ability to dash is a part of how the Celeste Mountain affects Madeline. This is supported by multiple arguments: Madeline (suddenly) learned to dash in Prologue at the foot of Mount Celeste; in Core, the dash mechanics are changed, which Granny explains as effects of the Mountain's powers; in Farewell as Madeline ascends to space, she partially loses the second dash.
  • Another (joke) theory popularized by Celeste fans is that Madeline can dash because she is trans.
• Badeline gives Madeline a second dash at the end of Reflection as they merge and Madeline "levels up".
• Dashing in a room containing a red Winged Strawberry will cause it to fly upwards, off-screen, phasing past anything on its way, only returning once you leave the room or die. This forces the player to reach it without dashing. A Winged Strawberry can still be collected while it is flying away, which is sometimes required.
  • Forsaken City A-Side can be beaten without dashing. This entails the use of some dashless tech. Upon completing this chapter with no dashes, the player can claim a Winged Golden Berry.
• Many mods modify and enhance dashing. Extended Variants has multiple options allowing to modify dash speed, count, duration, or behavior. Dash Counter can count the number of times Madeline dashed in a room or chapter, functioning like the vanilla death counter. More Dasheline also adds the ability to dash more than twice mid-air, expanding dash refills to replenish up to 5 dashes. Skin mods such as Prideline may modify Madeline's hair color based on the number of dashes she has.