Cairn game review: Scaling new heights
This punishing, meditative climb up a mountain demands precision and patience
Cairn is the result of five years’ development by French indie studio The Game Bakers. Players take control of Aava, an experienced climber who sets out to scale the fictional Mount Kami, a perilous edifice that also serves as a graveyard for countless poor souls. The experience recalls recent environmental endurance challenges such as Death Stranding and Baby Steps, with a difficulty curve that can occasionally feel overwhelming.
Controlling Aava as she climbs requires the careful placement of each individual limb, ideally into a suitable crack or onto a narrow ledge. After a scant tutorial, this process can seem unintuitive but it gradually begins to make sense and, in time, movement becomes second nature. The game can even induce a zen-like calm as the sun sets and shadows stretch, at least until the survival elements intrude. Aava must periodically eat, drink, warm up, sleep, tape her fingers and repair the pitons that act as temporary safeguards while climbing.
The vertiginous landscape has been meticulously handcrafted by the game’s designers, offering multiple routes of varying difficulty, so that every player’s journey will be unique. Around its halfway point, the game sharply ramps up the challenge with a sheer cliff face that initially looks impossible to scale; mercifully, a rewind mechanic, available in the settings, can be used to mitigate endless frustration. Featuring striking cell-shaded visuals, an atmospheric soundtrack enriched by birdsong, waterfalls, rain and wind, and a superbly implemented control system, Cairn is an ascent well worth making.
Cairn is out now on PC and PS5.