Every now and again, I boot up a game for the first time and, within just a few hours, realize I’m witnessing something special. It happened with Grand Theft Auto IV, when I first drove through Liberty City’s Times Square, gazing up at billboards to the backdrop of Chet Baker’s “Let’s Get Lost.” It happened with The Last of Us, when I carried Joel’s daughter to safety from a pair of clickers, only to realize the greater peril was the human standing in front of us.
Then, in 2018, it happened again with Celeste.
Developed by Maddy Thorson, Celeste told the story of a young woman named Madeline braving the dangers of a mountain as she steadily trekked toward the summit. Across hundreds of meticulously crafted 2D screens, players hopped, dashed, and climbed their way from one milestone to the next, completing optional side puzzles that would yield collectable strawberries.
It was hard as nails, requiring pixel-perfect platforming. It rarely relented, hitting players with constant death, lightning-fast respawns, and a story that revealed Madeline’s inner demon (literally). For many, myself included, it was a terrific game. It was also a pivotal one, allowing real-world Maddy to share her identity with the world while paving the way for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in video games.
Lost to Fate
In the years since Celeste, Maddy’s studio, Extremely OK Games (“EXOK”), had been working on a new 2D adventure-platformer titled Earthblade. The game wowed with a teaser trailer at the 2022 Game Awards, then vanished from the public eye until a few weeks ago, when Maddy announced bittersweetly that Earthblade was no more.
It’s tempting to say Earthblade’s cancellation was sudden, or even outright shocking. But the reality is, bad news in this industry is almost always abrupt and sad, with little room for closure. In a blog post from EXOK, Maddy shared a surprisingly detailed look into the studio’s decision, which factored in relationship rifts, scope creep, and mental exhaustion. It isn’t a happy ending, but it seems the healthy one.
Still, it’s hard not to look at Earthblade and wonder “What if?” This was the follow-up to one of the greatest games of the past decade, and it’ll surely take EXOK time to heal, regain their bearings, and chart a new course forward. That teaser trailer hadn’t shown much, but it captured my imagination and heart nonetheless.
Glimmers of Greatness
A huge part of my love for Celeste stems from its moody soundtrack, composed by the incredible Lena Raine (Minecraft, Chicory). From the soul-stirring theme song, “First Steps,” to the mesmerizing, dance-like “Scattered and Lost,” Raine’s music paints a picture of loneliness, heartbreak, but also perseverance and triumph.
This past week, Raine released a concept album, EARTHBLADE ~ Across the Bounds of Fate, containing music she had created for the now-cancelled game. It’s a breezy listen, at just about 35 minutes, but it reveals a lot about what Earthblade was and what it could have been.
Give it a listen for yourself:
![EARTHBLADE ~ Across the Bounds of Fate [Official]](https://i0.wp.com/i.ytimg.com/vi/a6Bd96Y3OJU/hqdefault.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1)
There’s a lot to unpack here, from the song titles to the actual music and its motifs. “Accept Your Fate” is a reflective, decidedly Celeste-esque piece that makes me envision a title screen or introductory story moment. “Child of the Earth” is more open-ended, with a drone-like backing, as if living through a dream.
“Verdant Mysteries,” meanwhile, is a more playful track, one that speaks to a potential whimsical side of Earthblade. Its confident strings and melancholic timbre remind me of a more-relaxed “Wind Scene” from Chrono Trigger (a game that, incidentally, celebrated its 30th anniversary this week). Likewise, “DEPOSE” (notably in all-caps, like a mandate from a machine) calls to mind the legendary “Corridors of Time.”
It’s a loose interpretation on my part, but one that I can’t shake. Just listen to “LINEAGE,” a gorgeous, jazzy track that evokes the far-reaching expanses of time and space. Heck, even the album name, “Across the Bounds of Fate,” seems to pay homage to the RPG legend. Could Earthblade have aimed to rival Chrono Trigger in terms of its story, vibes, or—dare I say it—greatness?
We’ll never know for certain. All we have to go on are the morsels from Maddy’s past developer blogs. With any luck, we’ll see concepts from Earthblade resurrected in future EXOK projects. While we wait, though, Raine’s album serves as a beautiful yet tragic bridge for Celeste fans everywhere.
Earthblade, developed by Extremely OK Games, was announced in 2022 and scheduled for release in 2024, before being cancelled in 2025.
- To support Lena Raine and her music, purchase the Earthblade digital album.
- To support Maddy and the rest of EXOK, subscribe to their newsletter or join their Discord.
