Cairn Review

Cairn is a survival mountain climbing adventure developed and published by The Game Bakers (who also did Furi and Haven). I remember seeing this game at Summer Game Fest 2024 and thought it looked like a nice game, but then I forgot about it while waiting for Kingdom Hearts IV news (and I’m still waiting for it). Now it’s in our hands and ready to be reviewed; will Cairn ascend above the heavens, or will I climb down to stay inside and play videogames?

To touch eternity for one instant.

You play as Aava, who has taken it upon herself to become the first person to reach the summit of Mount Kami. Tackling said mountain will be no small feat, as such a climb has already cost over 150 lives; but with patience, effort, and maybe some climbing chalk, she might finally touch eternity for one instant. It's a tale full of danger and heartache, but also moments of warmth and peace. It feels nice when you reach a cutscene, as it’s a break from the struggles of Mount Kami (which may also refill your hunger and thirst).

Despite the initially lonely prospect, you’ll meet quite a few characters on your journey, as well as learn more about the people who once lived on the mountain. It’s honestly fairly interesting, and hunting down lore might lead you to some beautiful sights that will remind you how awesome the world is… or horrific scenes that may leave you paranoid… or a sweet upgrade like a bigger water bottle. Hey, it all works.

Man, I wish I was Spider-Man...

By the way, a slight trigger warning because I know some people aren’t gonna stand it. If you dislike the sight of fingers being mutilated, you might want to avoid this game. They can get pretty gnarly. Also, spoiler, though you don’t see it at any point: a pet does die, and it's described in a very heartbreaking way.

Anyways, let’s get climbing on this adventure that may or may not kill you. Please note that Cairn should be played with a controller, and if you try any other method… well, good luck with that. To climb, you move each individual limb and carefully position them to get you up a wall. You’ll need to take advantage of ledges, cracks, and the odd rock sticking out.

However, along the way you’ll need to keep yourself fed, hydrated, warm, and energised, or else you might find yourself taking an unfortunate tumble off the side of a cliff. And to make things a little more difficult, Cairn doesn’t have autosaves by default; you can only save and reload at camping points (which can be rare), and it likes to remind you how much time has passed since your last save. That’s… actually pretty cool, I’m not going to lie. It makes each decision a lot more important, and mistakes are genuinely punishing without being unfair.

A moment of calm. Cherish it.

It’s critical you think like a rock climber and plan your route before you do something stupid. Check for handholds and spots to rest, ideal places to add pitons (metal hooks made to save you from falling to your death), and always visualise your next step. Rushing it will only cause you to fail again and again, but perseverance will reward much more than giving up.

Here’s a tip: if your limbs are in a weird position and shaking, hit Y/Triangle/top face button to recover stamina and slightly correct your holds. It is literally a lifesaver. Oh, and make sure to use pitons in regular intervals. They’ll stop you from hitting the ground, but they also might snap your spine. I’d give you more warnings, but I think it’s more fun if you experience it yourself.

That being said, if you’re struggling, there are some Assist options you can turn on to make the climb easier, such as autosave, disabling the survival metres, and even rewinding your falls. Still, the developer recommends that you keep trying and overcome whatever wall there is you need to surmount. You have all the tools you’ll need; you just need to use them wisely.

But if you want to really feel like a climber, you can switch out Automatic Limb Selection (which is on by default) for Manual Limb Selection, which will make you think about the position of your feet and hands with each step. And if you're really feeling brave/stupid, you can set the difficulty to Free Solo. It disables all handholding, including the ability to save (though a temporary save will be made if you quit the game). If you die at any point, you're gonna have to climb all the way back up from the very bottom. There is no achievement for completing the game like this, so only do this if you want more stress in your life.

God, I love the sense of scale here.

Despite the serious difficulty, Cairn is oddly therapeutic. Sure, you have to contend with thirst, hunger, cold, and the many dangerous drops, but the process of climbing the mountain can be extremely calming. Finding handholds, carefully positioning your feet and hands, taking a moment to relax and look ahead. After a while, you lose yourself and just focus solely on the game, and that’s a magical feeling to have in this day and age.

There are a few issues I noticed, such as some framerate drops from 60 FPS to clipping through the geometry and ending up somewhere else, but overall, the game performed smoothly for the most part, and the load times weren’t too bad.

Cairn is just really nice to play. I lost myself to the mountain as I carefully made my way up, experiencing quite the emotional story and enjoying the sights. You will struggle and get frustrated, but you will overcome whatever is in your way. You just have to keep trying.