# Hardest levels in Celeste and how hard the game is

> Celeste is hard but fair. Farewell (Chapter 9) is its hardest level, then the late B- and C-Sides; the community hardlist ranks even harder mod maps.

Celeste is hard but fair: the main story is a demanding platformer with frequent checkpoints, and the real difficulty is in the optional content. In the official game, the hardest level is **Chapter 9: Farewell**, the free post-game chapter added in 2019, which introduces new mechanics and demands advanced techniques like wavedashing. Below it, the toughest content is the **B-Sides and C-Sides** of the later chapters, especially Core (Chapter 8) and The Summit (Chapter 7).

## Hardest official content

1. **Farewell (Chapter 9):** a long chapter with jellyfish gliders, new block types and precise momentum tricks. Its final screens are widely considered the hardest part of the base game.
2. **Core C-Side and Summit C-Side:** short, extremely precise remixes that require clean execution throughout.
3. **Core B-Side and Summit B-Side:** long, punishing versions of the late chapters.
4. **Reflection and Summit A-Sides:** the hardest parts of the main story, but much easier than the remixes.

## How to unlock the harder content

- **B-Sides:** find the cassette tape hidden in each chapter.
- **C-Sides:** unlock after you clear the B-Sides and collect their crystal hearts.
- **Farewell:** a post-game chapter that opens after you complete the main story and progress through Core.

## Beyond the base game

The Celeste modding community has made thousands of custom maps, and the hardest of them are far tougher than anything in the official game. Community collections rank these maps by difficulty tiers; the best known is the "hardlist" (hard list), a player-maintained ranking of the hardest custom maps that changes as new maps are released. If you've beaten Farewell and want more, community maps are the next step.

## Making Celeste easier

Assist Mode lets you slow the game down, get extra dashes, become invincible or skip chapters. Using it has no penalty on story progress, which is part of what made Celeste's approach to accessibility so well known.

## FAQ

**How hard is Celeste overall?**
The main story is challenging but fair, with frequent checkpoints. B-Sides, C-Sides and Farewell are aimed at players who want serious precision platforming.

**Is Celeste Chapter 9 worth it?**
For players who enjoyed the main story, yes. Farewell adds a moving epilogue and the most demanding platforming in the game.

**What is the hardest achievement in Celeste?**
Players usually point to the achievements tied to the C-Sides and Farewell, since they require clearing the most demanding content in the game.

**Can you replay levels in Celeste?**
Yes. You can replay any chapter from the map to collect strawberries, hearts and cassettes you missed.

**What is the Celeste hardlist?**
It's a community-maintained list that ranks the hardest custom Celeste maps by difficulty. It covers mods, not the official chapters, and is run by players rather than the developers.

**Is Celeste Classic hard?**
Celeste Classic, the short PICO-8 original made by Maddy Thorson and Noel Berry for a 2015 game jam, is tough but far shorter and simpler than the full game.

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https://gamevoyages.com/what-are-the-hardest-levels-in-celeste/ · Game Voyage · Checked 2026-10-31