Event Horizon is the fifth subchapter of Chapter 9: Farewell in Celeste. The subchapter introduces the player to wavedashing with a tutorial at the Internet Café before testing the player's skills in practice rooms and then challenging rooms beyond. In this subchapter, Madeline nearly catches the Bird, but then crashes and thinks that it is trying to stop her from reaching Granny. There is a hidden "Nightmare Fuel Kevin Room" located near the end of this subchapter, featuring strange audio with a hidden meaning.
Gameplay[]
This subchapter will start with a short chase towards the Bird with some glitchy effects as the player moves forward. The player will then be met with a Heart Gate, requiring at least 15 Crystal Hearts to have been obtained before opening up (the one just obtained in the previous subchapter does not count). Once past this gate, the Internet Café will be seen along with Madeline's car. When approached, a tutorial on wavedashing can be viewed by tapping the climb button. Past this will be a few screens projecting a hologram of Madeline performing wavedashes in the background, which the player can follow if they need more practice. The player will eventually meet up with the Bird again, but it gets away after carrying Madeline a short distance. In the following cutscene, some final glitchy effects will occur and the background and music will change, and from there it will be a gauntlet of tough rooms, many of which will require wavedashing to complete.
Strategies[]
Room 1
Jump and dash to get over to the right until met with a large gap before the bird's next location. Experience players may wavedash to get across here, but otherwise you should slide down the right side of the platform and climb up after collecting the double dash crystal, then use that to get across. When approaching the next area, a Heart Gate will slam down from the sky and block your progress unless 15 Crystal Hearts have been collected, and if so then it will open and allow you to leave the room. It is possible to bypass this Heart Gate if you can get the speed for it, however. Stand just at the left of the circle in the background, facing right. Jump straight up and dash straight right to land on the lip in the floor, then immediately do a hyperdash to the right and you'll make it past before the Heart Gate arrives. This will be a precise maneuver, but it is able to save a bit of time and notably skip the need to get 15 Crystal Hearts, which is helpful in a speedrun.
Room 2
Advance past the Internet Café and you'll come across some screens in the background. Follow the demonstration and do a wavedash to the right, then dash straight up into the space block. Dash right and down through the next space blocks and move on to the next ledge. It may be easier to perform the actions denoted by doing them after the hologram has passed. Fall down to the spring and bounce right, then do a wall bounce to the right, then grab the right side of the last platform and jump to the right to reach the end of the room.
Room 3
Do a wavedash to the right, then another wavedash off of the platform, then time a dash straight upward left of the large corner of the ledge, then do a wall bounce up the side of this ledge to allow you to climb and make it to the top.
Room 4
As you enter this room, the Bird will slowly fly down and to the right. You'll need to do a wavedash to reach it, then a cutscene will play where it carries you to the right side of the room.
Room 5
Do a wavedash to the right and dash straight up to collect the double dash crystal and grab the wall to the right. Release the grab, then fall a bit to then dash diagonally up-right, then straight up and do a wall bounce to the right. You'll be able to land on a falling platform, then jump and dash up-right off of it to reach the end of the room.
Room 6
In this room you will need to do three wavedashes in quick succession. Do each wavedash on the falling platforms, then using the momentum to do another one in the right position, then at the end you'll be able to dash up-right and climb the wall at the end.
Room 7
Wavedash to the right to reach the conveyor wall, then slide up it and jump up and to the right over the crystals. Fall a bit, then dash straight right to grab another conveyor wall. Release and jump up at the top to then go to the left over a stray crystal and collect a double dash crystal. Fall down from there until you can dash straight right and grab another conveyor wall. Ride up it and jump to the right and descend while dodging the crystals, then you can use your remaining dash to reach another conveyor wall. Ride up and use the momentum to get to the right where you can collect another double dash crystal. You can simply use both of your dashes, going up-right then straight up, to reach the conveyor wall on the right, ride up it until just before touching the crystal above, then jump and move left, then back right and grab the conveyor wall above, then do this again and you'll be able to reach the top. From the second of the three conveyor walls, you could also go to the left and grab the small platform there, then jump back right to reach the last conveyor wall.
Room 8
This room has some skull binoculars available to preview the room, if needed. Fall down and dash left to activate the angry platform. Hold onto it at the bottom until you pass some crystals, then quickly start jumping up so you can grab the right wall before being crushed on the falling platform. Climb up and jump to collect the double dash crystal and grab the left side of the angry platform. Avoid the crystals as you pass again, then climb onto the angry platform as you back into the area with a key token above. Quickly jump up and dash straight up and up-left to collect the key token, then fall down while avoiding the area of the sludge-spawning tiles that you used previously. Jump to the right and dash into the right side of the angry platform and grab it near the bottom. Start climbing up before you reach the right side and you can jump to the right wall. Finally, jump onto a third area of the angry platform where you still have not touched to refresh your dash and jump and dash straight up through the space block to reach the end.
Room 9
This room has some skull binoculars available to preview the room, if needed. This room will require quick actions on starbelts and well-timed wavedashes. Jump onto the first starbelt, then jump back left and fall down so that you can do a wavedash to the right off of it. Do a dash straight up from there to grab another starbelt. Release and jump to the right when this starbelt about halfway across its track and collect the dash crystal on the way, then dash up-right to grab the next starbelt. Quickly jump off of it to the left and try to land on it at the end of its track, then immediately after jump left to set up a wavedash to the right. Dash up-right from there to grab one more starbelt, then ride it until the end of its track before releasing and jumping right to reach the ending ledge with the momentum.
Room 10
This room has some skull binoculars available to preview the room, if needed. Dash up-right after jumping right to collect the double dash crystal and fall down to grab the right side of the triggered platform. Slide down as low as you can before it reaches the crystals to the right, then just before you touch the crystals release the grab and fall right for a bit before dashing straight up and wall bounce to collect a key token. Then, fall and move right before dashing straight left to collect the other key token and grab the key-activated platform which will move right and allow you to jump into the dash crystal to the right and dash up-right, then climb onto the ending ledge.
Room 11
This room has some skull binoculars available to preview the room, if needed. Do a wavedash to the right, then time a straight upward dash to then do a wall bounce in which you wrap around and go right above the spikes and collect the double dash crystal and grab the wall. Climb up and dash straight up and grab the wall above. Jump to the right and there will be a small dip in the ceiling which you can do a wall bounce on to collect the key token and another dash crystal, which you can then use to get back to the double dash crystal. Dash up again, then jump to the right and grab the dip in the ceiling to the right. Climb a bit and then jump left, then dash up and climb up to the next room.
Room 12
This room has some skull binoculars available to preview the room, if needed. Dash straight up or up-left and grab the first starbelt, hold on for a bit before jumping off and to the right such that you can grab the next starbelt and a dash crystal, then grab the next starbelt and quickly jump left. You can then dash straight up to wall bounce off of the first starbelt to get to the second starbelt. Grab it and jump to the other side of it quickly, then wall jump off of its right side into another dash crystal. Climb up the right wall, then jump to the left and grab the left side of the last starbelt. Ride it to the end, then jump up the thin corridor to exit the room.
Room 13
Jump into the green bubble and take it straight up, then do a wavedash to the right after exiting it, then dash straight up into the next green bubble. Do a wavedash out of this green bubble to the left, then do a dash diagonally up-left and grab the disappearing platform. Quickly get atop is and jump into the green bubble on the left. Take it straight upward, then dash straight upward before it appears again to fall into it again so that you can stall for the disappearing platform to spawn back. When this happens, do a wavedash off of it to the right, then dash straight up and climb out of the room.
Room 14
This room will seem like it requires impeccable timing, but in reality, it is quite lenient. Jump and dash straight right through the first space block and space block jump to the right, then do this again for the next space block, but for the third space block make sure to not hold right and instead to just jump so that you can collect the key token and not be launched into spikes to the right. Fall down and grab the wall, then jump to the left and start doing more dashes to the left, space block jumping through both space blocks you pass through, then do a straight upward dash inbetween the crystals above and hold left to land on the ledge and finish the room.
Room 15
In this room are a unique appearance of moving space blocks, in which some of them are in front of walls which allows you to pass through the walls while dashing. Watch the set of moving space blocks at the start, then jump and dash straight right and space block jump when the first moving space block reaches the crystals. Dash straight up through the space block, then fall down and dash straight up through it again, then move right and fall and move back left and dash straight up through the same moving space block for a third time. After falling from here, aim to dash straight up through the next moving space block, then once more and fall again, then after falling again, aim to dash up-right through the space block underneath the crystals, then fall until you can dash straight right into the next moving space block allows you to pass through the wall. Space block jump out of this, then again out of the next space block. Then dash right and space block jump off of the next space block and dash straight up through it to be taken to the next room. There is also a small area where you can dash up-right into the last space block, then back up-left to get to the top.
Room 16
This room has some skull binoculars available to preview the room, if needed. In this infamous "comb room", you must take a triggered platform to the right to use for wall bounces, even one right out of a wavedash. Walk up to the right side of the triggered platform, then dash straight up and grab the triggered platform and quickly release, then back up. Watch until the triggered platform reaches the past the longest column of crystals from the ceiling. At this point, wavedash to the right and dash straight up to wall bounce over the crystals, then move back left and grab the right side of the triggered platform. Climb up to align yourself to not touch the crystals to the right. One set of crystals can't be dodged, so climb up and jump to the right over the crystals, then move back left and re-grab the triggered platform. Release the grab button as you reach the next area, then wait for a bit. Just before the triggered platform reaches the first of the columns of crystals, bounce off of the spring to the right and you'll be able to wall bounce off of the triggered platform again, allowing you to get over to the right side of the set of crystals, then move back left and you can re-grab the triggered platform one last time. When it reaches the dip in the ceiling, jump to the right and you will have finished the room.
Room 17
This room has a single white cloud with a few crystals on both sides. After falling from the ledge, it is quite simple to just dash down-right underneath the white cloud but above the crystals. To make it easier, you can jump on the white cloud then quickly back left, then do the down-right dash.
Room 18
This room will be a very long one full of many different challenges. Start by jumping onto the falling platform and waiting for it to fall. Walk to the left to collect the double dash crystal and walk back right to quickly then jump right onto another falling platform. Walk right as much as possible and then jump right, then dash up-right and up-left to reach the feather. Take it to the left and down the area to the left, then do a dash up-right to land on the falling platform from before. By going down to the moon block below, you can jump to a platform with a pair of skull binoculars available to preview the room, if needed. From the falling platform, jump and dash right to grab the falling platform to the right, then jump back left. Go back to the falling platform from earlier and do a wavedash to the right followed by a straight right dash to grab another falling platform. Fall down while holding on, collecting a dash crystal along the way, then dash straight right before touching the crystals below and grab the next falling platform. Slide down this falling platform after a bit such that the spring bounces you to the right without launched you into the crystals. At this point, a technique which has not yet been demonstrated must be used. Hold the down button in the air to greatly increase your falling speed, important here such that you can time a dash to the left to collect one of the double dash crystals and bounce off of the springs, allowing you to use the two dashes up-right after the bounce to reach a feather. Take this feather up and right and continue collecting feathers along the way and then the Bird will show up to fly with you. Eventually you can start just flying straight up, just needing to dash into one more feather to take it up to the top of the room. You'll need to carefully go around the crystals by going right and down-left, then back right to collect one last feather which you can take straight right through a long corridor of crystals. There will then be a bunch of moon blocks that you can jump across to reach the end of the room.
A bit after the long vertical stretch of the feather section, you can find an area off to the left featuring some angry platforms (also known as Kevins) above a room with eerie audio and a feather to get back to the main path. This easter egg, dubbed the Nightmare Fuel Kevin Room, seems unusual at first, but the audio playing in this area actually reveals some secret messages when viewed as in a spectrogram, the details of which can be read here.
Gallery[]
