A game that I feel does a great job of merging narrative and gameplay elements to tell an emotional story is Celeste. This game is about a girl named Madeline, who at the start we don’t know much about. Early on, we see her re-assure herself that she can do this(presumably referring to climbing the mountain) and control her through the early obstacles of the game. We can see her uncertainty in the way she talks to herself and the way she reacts to a close call at the end of the prologue. As we continue up the Mountain, we realize that for Madeline this isn’t just about overcoming the challenges on the way to the summit, it’s about overcoming her own insecurities and perceived shortcomings. by proving to herself that she can do something she sets her mind to, namely climbing this mountain. This sets up a dynamic of two stories in one, the story of a girl climbing a Mountain, and the story of Madeline overcoming her self-doubts. The line between these two stories is blurred however, when she looks into a mirror and a dark reflection of her emerges. This part of her that comes out of the mirror is her fears and doubts made manifest, it tells her she can’t do this and that theres no reason trying. In the gameplay, this character literally chases Madeline throughout the level, echoing how she feels hounded by her own insecurities. Throughout the game, this part of her continues to make things hard for her, refusing to let her get to the summit. Eventually this leads to a full on confrontation where Madeline thinks she has to leave this part of her behind, but eventually realizes that she has to accept it and work with it, after all it is still part of her. After she does accept this part of herself, she is finally able to summit the mountain. This success is made special because not only did you, the player, overcome a difficult platforming game to achieve this, but you watched as Madeline the character simultaneously overcame her inner demons and learned to accept herself.
