This guide provides incremental hints for each blue Crystal Heart. The purpose is to let the reader decide how much assistance they need for each Heart, and reveal more spoilers only when necessary.
Celeste Incremental Hints for Blue Crystal Hearts
I loved hunting for the blue Crystal Hearts, but I found it difficult to track certain ones down by myself organically. While there are numerous guides available online-some even offering incremental hints as well-none quite satisfied my need. Why not put together something myself, I thought, maybe it’ll prove helpful to someone else even.
Template
Every chapter contains one blue Heart, each presenting an obstacle for the player to overcome in order to obtain it. Here’s the template for each Heart in this guide, laid out precisely how I would’ve wanted it:
Nature of the obstacle
e.g., puzzle, movement technique, hidden passage
Heart visibility
Describes whether the Heart is plainly visible, hidden away, etc.
Location
Incremental hints for the Heart’s location
Solution
Incremental hints for overcoming the obstacle
Tips
The nature of each obstacle can inform your decision about how much help is needed before revealing more specifics. For example, you might prefer exploring by yourself for “hidden passage” ones, but be more willing to reveal hints for “movement technique” ones.
This guide sometimes uses Strawberries as reference points. The numbering here follows the same order as the in-game Strawberry counter, available at the bottom of the pause menu once you’ve beaten the chapter.
Chapter 1: Forsaken City
Nature of the obstacle
Puzzle
Heart visibility
Not visible; only materializes once the puzzle is solved
Location
Subchapter: 2nd subchapter, Crossing
Specific location hint #1: Have you collected all the Strawberries in this subchapter? Along the way, did any peculiar phenomenon near one of them pique your interest?
Specific location hint #2: Why are they moving in such an artificial, periodical manner? Are they trying to convey a message to you?
Specific location hint #3: It’s located near the 3rd Strawberry in this subchapter.
Specific location hint #4: You get to the 3rd Strawberry from this screen[web.archive.org]. Pay attention to the visual clues for a less obvious path to exit this screen.
Specific location: Instead of following the obvious main path by heading to the top right corner, dash into the gap that the upward arrow sign at the top is pointing at. From the newly revealed platform, proceed to the upper left corner instead. Continue down this path until you find the Strawberry shortly after.
Solution
Solution hint #1: The computer monitor and the group of birds are in sync, each periodically displaying the same information. Try to make sense of the information.
Solution hint #2: The colors of the birds happen to be the same as the sequence displayed on the monitor.
Solution hint #3: When the birds dash into different directions, it’s always the exact same formation. They are instructing you to follow their lead and perform certain actions.
Solution hint #4: The birds expect you to dash. The perform their dashes simultaneously, but you can only dash into one direction at a time. In that case, there must be a sequence of directions for you to dash into, one by one.
Solution: Each bird associates its feather color with a dashing direction, so the color sequence on the monitor can be decoded into a sequence of dashes with specified directions. Memorize the order of the sequence of colors, then perform the corresponding dashes: up (white), left (purple), down-right (blue), up-right (red), left (purple), up-left (yellow).
Chapter 2: Old Site
Nature of the obstacle
Movement technique; this Heart is widely considered the most obscure one
Heart visibility
Visible, but not from the main path
Location
Subchapter: 1st subchapter, Start
Specific location hint #1: Although this Heart is obtained in the 1st subchapter, it is actually also visible (but not obtainable) in the 3rd subchapter, Awake. There is an in-game poem that serves as a hint, so it’s worthwhile to first see if you can locate it in the Awake subchapter.
Specific location hint #2: In the Awake subchapter, find Theo’s camping site and dash onto the ruins in the upper left corner. Use the platforms to make your way upwards, and you’ll soon find the Heart and the poem. Try to make sense of the poem.
Specific location hint #3: You are currently in the Awake subchapter, and the Heart is walled off by stones.
Specific location hint #4: The poem is suggesting that this Heart is only obtainable during dreams.
Specific location hint #5: If you jump onto the stone cage of the Heart and drop off from its left side, you’ll land at the Celeste Mountain Memorial at the start of the chapter. The heart is high above the Memorial, but only obtainable during the Start subchapter.
Solution
Solution hint #1: This might be an odd request, but: if you haven’t yet, it’s a great idea to play at least the beginning of the next chapter, Chapter 3, first. See if you can manage to collect the 2nd Strawberry in its first subchapter.
Solution hint #2: It’s impossible to collect that Strawberry using the techniques introduced so far! If only you could dash a second time midair and land on the platform above the Strawberry…
Solution hint #3: The poem says the Heart is “lurking out of frame”. Try to reproduce a similar situation with this Strawberry: go to the left side of the platform so that Madeline is in a new frame, and now the Strawberry is “out of frame” (to her right) as well. Try to reach the out-of-frame Strawberry while paying close attention to Madeline’s hair color, and see if you can figure out how to gain an extra jump midair.
Solution hint #4: The game refunds the stamina spent on the previous dash whenever Madeline crosses frame borders, even when she’s midair. You are expected to exploit this mechanism in order to obtain both this Strawberry and the Heart.
Solution hint #5: Start from the Memorial and gain altitude by repeatedly dashing across frame borders, eventually reaching the Heart directly above the Memorial.
Solution: First, it’s the vertical border between the Memorial screen and the one on the right, eventually grabbing onto the wall in the screen above the Memorial. Climb up and dash into the screen above this one, then dash across the horizontal border between these two screens in order to maneuver to the left side of the screen and grab onto the wall in the upper left. It’s trivial to reach the Heart from here on.
Chapter 3: Celestial Resort
Nature of the obstacle
Hidden passage
Heart visibility
Visible from the main path, but unobtainable from there
Location
Subchapter: 2nd subchapter, Huge Mess
Specific location hint #1: This Heart is unmissable, in the sense that it is clearly visible below the floor shortly after entering the area with books, whose entrance is the higher one of the two in the upper right corner of the huge room Mr. Oshiro is in.
Specific location hint #2: This Heart is unobtainable from the books area. Try to picture the structure of the 2D Resort, and guess where the entrance to the Heart passage could be.
Specific location hint #3: Since the Heart is seen below the floor in the books area, you should try to reach the Heart from the area directly below the books area.
Specific location: The entrance is in the towels area, whose entrance is the lower one of the two in the upper right corner of the huge room. Right after entering the towels area, an entrance can be seen on the ceiling in the upper left corner.
Solution
Solution hint #1: The ceiling passage is immediately blocked off by towels. Clean the towels area first, and revisit the ceiling passage afterward.
Solution hint #2: After cleaning the area, you cannot retrace your steps since the path is blocked off now. Don’t leave this screen via the obvious exit in the top left corner; there is another way.
Solution hint #3: There is a hidden entrance somewhere in this screen that will lead back to the start of this area, where the ceiling passage is.
Solution hint #4: The hidden entrance is in the ceiling, where the stream of water comes from.
Solution: Dash into the hidden entrance and return to the start of the towels area. You can now enter the passage previously blocked by towels, and obtain the Heart.
Chapter 4: Golden Ridge
Nature of the obstacle
Hidden passage, movement technique
Heart visibility
Visible, but not from the main path
Location
Subchapter: 2nd subchapter, Shrine
Specific location hint #1: Keep your eyes peeled, you need to go through two hidden passages before finally finding this Heart.
Specific location hint #2: Have you found the 7th Strawberry in this subchapter yet? If not, try locating that first.
Specific location hint #3: Water looks beautiful, but it’s also a great way to hide secrets.
Specific location: From the start of the subchapter, grab the Guided Platform (the block with arrows on it), navigate it to reach the glowing entrance in the top right corner. Enter through the Smashable Wall hidden behind the waterfall to find the 7th Strawberry, then a second Smashable Wall on the right to find the jewel.
Solution
Solution hint #1: The visually out-of-place white block [web.archive.org] on the ground is a reference to a secret technique in Super Mario Bros. 3. Try to recall if you’re familiar with it, otherwise read on.
Solution hint #2: The secret technique is to press and hold the “down” button while standing on the white block. Since you don’t know the reference, I’ll keep the element of surprise and leave it to you to find out what this delightful secret technique does. 🙂
Solution: The secret technique will let Madeline drop behind the white block and be able to interact with background sceneries and, as a result, reach locations inaccessible in the foreground. Obtaining the Heart is trivial after this.
Chapter 5: Mirror Temple
Nature of the obstacle
Hidden passage
Heart visibility
Visible, but not from the main path
Location
Subchapter: 2nd subchapter, Depths
Specific location hint #1: In this subchapter, how many Locks (i.e., big square blocks, requiring a golden key to unlock) have you found? Keep searching if you’ve only found one, and pay attention to Smashable Walls.
Specific location hint #2: The second Lock is located beneath the floor somewhere. Try to locate a section of the floor that looks clearly destroyable.
Specific location hint #3: It is the second Lock after all. It is hidden in an area behind the first Lock.
Specific location: After obtaining the key, take a Red Bubble and travel a great distance to the right to find the first Lock. After unlocking it, you need to cover yet another great distance to the right, until four doors closes consecutively behind your back. At the center of the floor of this room is the aforementioned section of the floor, and you’ll find the second Lock beneath after breaking this section.
Solution
Solution hint #1: There is no second key in this subchapter.
Solution hint #2: In order to obtain this Heart, you must find a hidden passage which bypasses the first Lock, so that you can save the only key for the second Lock.
Solution hint #3: The entrance to this hidden passage is close to the first Lock. There is a small visual clue somewhere, but it’s difficult to spot in the dark environment.
Solution hint #4: After you ride a Red Bubble to reach the first Lock, there is a second Red Bubble which you can use to return where you came from. The visual clue is located somewhere on the way back.
Solution: On your way back to the left in the second bubble, there are three platforms with spikes on top. The hidden entrance is located at the bottom of the second platform, so you need to dash upward when beneath it. A Red Bubble hidden in this platform will send you into the hidden passage. Move through this passage and bypass the first Lock in the process, then use the Golden Key on you to unlock the second Lock.
Chapter 6: Reflection
Nature of the obstacle
Hidden passage, puzzle
Heart visibility
Not visible, only materializes after the puzzle is solved
Location
Subchapter: 3rd subchapter, Hollows
Specific location hint #1: There is a Golden Feather hidden somewhere in the first screen of this subchapter. You need to first locate this Feather.
Specific location hint #2: This Feature is buried in the ground, at a spot you have to pass by on the main path.
Specific location hint #3: At the start of this subchapter, you use the Angry Platform to gain access to the first Feather and fly diagonally to the upper right, which is where the Feather is hidden.
Specific location hint #4: Fly upward using the hidden Feather and locate the third Feather. Use the third Feather to find the hidden entrance.
Specific location: Use the third Feather to fly horizontally to the left, then enter through the opening on the wall. The puzzle awaits inside.
Solution
Solution hint #1: This puzzle build directly upon a certain pattern you’ve seen in previous chapters. You must recognize which pattern it is first.
Solution hint #2: There is a sequence of six colored gem-like objects on the wall. Where have you seen this sequence of color previously?
Solution hint #3: The sequence is the exact same as seen in the puzzle for the blue Crystal Heart in Ch. 1.
Solution hint #4: This new puzzle added four arrow-themed glyphs with corresponding torches, and you need to perform something as instructed by each glyph for its torch to light up.
Solution hint #5: The puzzle in Ch. 1 mapped each color to a dashing direction, so it makes sense the same mapping applies here as well. Then the glyph could act as a modifier on the original sequence of dashes, meaning you now need to perform four dashing sequences, each modified according to one glyph.
Solution hint #6: Arrow-themed glyphs acting as modifiers on dashing directions. Try to make sense of the glyphs.
Solution: The glyphs are instructions for mirroring the directions of the dashes: unmodified sequence for the first glyph, horizontally flipped for the second, vertically for the third, horizontally and vertically for the fourth. For your convenience, the original sequence was up, left, down-right, up-right, left, up-left.
Chapter 7: The Summit
Nature of the obstacle
Hidden passage
Heart visibility
Visible, but not from the main path
Location
Specific location hint #1: I’ll make the reasonable assumption that you’ve already finished Ch. 7, instead of hunting for collectibles on your first playthrough. In this case, have you come across (or even collected) some curious objects along the way? If not, maybe explore nooks and crannies of this chapter on your own a bit more first!
Specific location hint #2: There are a handful of uniquely shaped collectibles scattered along the way in the entire chapter. Instead of directly hunting for the Heart, you need to collect these to gain access to the Heart in the end.
Specific location hint #3: There are six jewels in total with one in each subchapter, from Start to 2500M. The Heart itself is in the 3000M subchapter and remains inaccessible until all six are collected. Note: the game doesn’t require the player to collect all six in the same run, i.e., if you collect one jewel, quit the game and return later, you won’t need to collect that same jewel again.
Specific location: The specific locations of the jewels and the Heart are detailed in the Solutions section below, one hint for each object. I’ve divided each hint into multiple spoiler tags to adhere to the incremental format.
Solution
Solution hint #1: Subchapter Start. Allow yourself to be sidetracked from the most obvious course of action so that you can explore the area before moving on. It happens at the end of the Start subchapter. At one point, you need to ignore Badeline’s Purple Orb that’s waiting for you, and wander off instead. You need to do it at the last moment, when you jump from a Spring installed on the left-side wall and Badeline’s Orb is waiting at the center. Instead of jumping into her, double-dash above her and climb onto the ground to her right to find the jewel.
Solution hint #2: Subchapter 500M. You face an intersection at one point, with one branch following the main path and the other leading to the jewel. In the third screen of this subchapter, you can proceed to either the top-left exit or the top-right one. Follow the top-left path into a tall screen and exit through the top-right corner into a horizontal screen where the ground is covered with spikes. Don’t leave this room through the obvious exit. There is a narrow gap in the ground, very easy to miss among the spikes. Drop through the gap to find the jewel.
Solution hint #3: Subchapter 1000M. You need to wander off the main path to find it. There are so many Dream Blocks around, make sure to explore and see where they lead to. In the fifth screen of this subchapter, instead of traveling all the way right through the moving Dream Blocks, use the Dream Block located at the top to enter the area above. There are actually two at the top, and both can lead you to the jewel. Watch out for hidden passages after dashing through the Dream Block at the top. If you find yourself entering an open area (i.e. there’s no way to travel higher anymore), you’ve most likely missed it. Reload the subchapter. The hidden passage is accessed by dashing into Smashable Walls. Look out for their unique texture. If you entered through the left Dream Block, the entrance is covered by a Dream Block that you need to dash through to destroy the wall. If you entered through the right Dream Block, the entrance is sandwiched between two Dream Blocks with spikes on top, making it easy to miss. Either way, enter the hidden passage to find the jewel.
Solution hint #4: Subchapter 1500M. It’s behind a hidden passage, but the entrance is very easy to notice. If you haven’t found the entrance, pay closer attention every time you are about to exit a screen, because right before exiting the 7th screen upward into the 8th, you can see the entrance in the bottom right corner.
Solution hint #5: Subchapter 2000M. The path leading to the jewel is hidden in plain sight. Explore more if you find the design of a screen a bit odd. That empty-looking screen would be very underutilized if not for this hidden entrance in it. At the start of this subchapter, go left to find a wide chasm occupying much of the screen. There are secrets in this screen. Double-dash into the gap in the ceiling located directly above the spikes on the ground to reveal a hidden platform. The entrance is to the left, enter to find the jewel.
Solution hint #6: Subchapter 2500M. There are no visual clues on the entrance. Experiment with the Red Bubbles and see if you can stumble upon it. The entrance looks just like a regular wall, but will break and reveal itself when a Red Bubble smashes into it. Take the first Red Bubble in the subchapter, and fly left instead of right. Inside the hidden passage, take that Red Bubble and fly a great distance to the right. Complete the screen where you land to find the jewel.
Solution hint #7: Subchapter 3000M. The Heart is near one of the first few Checkpoints. It’s Checkpoint 28, to be precise. Explore around instead of going straight above to Checkpoint 27. You need to dash through the one-block high passage to the right of Checkpoint 28.