As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
The video game:
- The very Tag Line, effectively an encouragement to the player as much as it is to Madeline, especially due to the game's Nintendo Hard factor.This is it, Madeline. Just breathe. You can do this.
- One of the pre-chapter postcards tells you to be proud of your death count, and that dying means you're learning. Considering that many games known for their high difficulty tend to mock the player for dying or otherwise making mistakes, this is a breath of fresh air.
- The bird that follows Madeline around throughout the game, starting in the prologue, where it saves you by teaching you how to dash. It can be seen relaxing on nearby ledges from then on, and will occasionally teach you necessary techniques such as the "jump as you exit a dash block" move in Chapter 2's B-Side. Even the wildlife wants Madeline to succeed!
- At the end of Chapter 1, Madeline sets up camp at a campfire next to a memorial dedicated to fallen climbers and takes the chance to sleep, with the aforementioned bird sleeping as well on her head.
- At the end of Chapter 2, after the ominous phone call in her dream, Madeline walks through the Old Site that she went through in her dream, and most of the hazards are gone. The chapter's closing shot has Madeline visiting the same phone booth that she dreamt about and making a call to her mother to assure her that she's doing okay.
- Chapter 3. Okay yeah, so trying to help out the ghost of Mr. Oshiro with the crummy state of his hotel went...poorly, to say the least, and the last thing he tells her is to leave him alone. But he cares enough about her to take one last look at her as she heads off to continue her journey. By the end of the game, he's forgiven her and Badeline and joins the rest of the main cast in their post-climb party. He even undergoes a personal change of mindset like Madeline, and can be seen using the malicious spirits his anxiety created as helpers to rebuild the hotel as she passes by during the credits. Maddie didn't just save herself from her personal troubles, she helped Oshiro as well.
- At the end of Chapter 4, Madeline undergoes a panic attack after Badeline sabotages the gondola, leaving her freaked out and imagining a dark miasma closing around them. Theo calmly explains to her what's happening, and teaches her a way to treat her panic attack, which manifests in the form of a minigame where you try to keep a feather rising and falling in rhythm. It works, and the closing shot of the chapter is Theo and Madeline happily stepping off of the gondola, laughing off the scare completely.
- This deserves a bit of further elaboration. The feather trick is a legitimate method of warding of a panic attack. Theo wasn't just teaching this to Madeline; he was teaching it to the player as well. Given the game's stance on mental wellness, it serves as an impactful way to help those in the real world.
- In Chapter 6:
- The heart-to-heart campfire chat between Theo and Madeline. You get to learn more about the two of them as they bond together and open up to one another.
- Madeline finally comes to terms with her "Badeline" self and reconciles with her, and they start working together to reach the summit for real.
- In Chapter 7, the conversations between Madeline and Badeline, now that the former has accepted that latter as a part of herself. Badeline slowly grows to trust Madeline over the course of the level, as well as become more confident in their ability to successfully reach the mountain peak. This extends to the credits and epilogue, where they talk and goof around as they climb back down the mountain to the old lady's cottage, cementing their bond. If you collected a low amount of strawberries, causing the others to hate the pie that Madeline bakes, Badeline will even attempt to come to her defense and say that she'll eat the entire pie herself (though she admits it was a bluff).
- The conversation at the end of Chapter 7's B-Side, which doubles as a Funny Moment.Badeline: That was amazing!Madeline: I can't believe we did that!Badeline: (distorted voice) NOTHING CAN STOP US!Madeline: (deadpan) You're scaring me right now.
- At the end of chapter 9, Madeline gets to properly say goodbye to Granny's spirit, and then manages to have an online chat with Theo (who's been concerned about her, but knew Granny's death would have her shaken).
- Right before that, if you died at the last part of the chapter 9 more than 4 times, Badeline comforts a sad Madeline and tells her to keep trying because she knows she can make it.
- Celeste 64 reveals that Madeline is 1) writing a book, and 2) now dating Theo's sister, Alex, and apparently Madeline and Alex are absolutely into each other. There's also implications that Madeline wants to undergo transitional surgery, and the whole mini-adventure is her mentally preparing for it. She also gets to see Granny one more time.
