Climbing games are having a moment, just as the real hobby is growing rapidly among the Gen Z crowd. I’ve always been fascinated by the mindset that makes someone want to put themselves through so much pain, suffering, and potential for death, but I never really thought of it as something I would want in a game. Then I played Don’t Nod’s excellent Jusant in 2024, and I was immediately hooked on the genre.
Fast forward several months to when The Game Bakers released a demo for their survival-climbing title, Cairn. I spent several hours getting to know the mechanics across the small tutorial level, and it immediately shot to the top of my most-anticipated list. Now the full game has arrived, so let’s see what kind of climb awaits the brave souls who dare to dream of standing at the top of the world.
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Cairn puts players in the climbing harness of Aava, who is seeking to become the first human ever to reach the summit of the mythical Mount Kami. Other than “to touch eternity for an instant”, we’re not given any clue as to Aava’s motivations for making such an unprecedented attempt. We do find out, through phone calls from someone who seems to be her manager, that Aava has sponsors for the climb, and from a few items found around the climbing gym where the game begins, we see that she is quite the celebrated mountaineer.
There isn’t a ton of story going on here, and what there is develops very slowly. I spent most of the game feeling that Aava was just angry and rude to the few people who tried to contact her (whom she ignores) and those she runs across on her journey. There is some nice payoff toward the end, but I wish there had been a bit more of a steady drip than a big rush after 10+ hours on the mountain. The environmental storytelling, however, is excellent, with emotional moments sprinkled throughout from discoveries linked to other climbers’ attempts at the journey, and the plight of the Troglodytes, the area’s indigenous people. A few of those phone calls, too, help give a glimpse of the toll that the sport takes on friends and family left back on terra firma, and they were some of the highlights of the game for me, as the voice acting is quite good.
Endure and Survive
The gameplay is the real star here, fortunately; the climbing is very good, and it lives up to the survival part of the billing too. Inventory management is paramount, as you have only a small backpack for all your items. You must manage health, hunger, thirst, and body temperature. Let any of those slip too far, and you’ll have major trouble climbing, and you’ll eventually suffer a blackout, which could cause a deadly fall.
You’ll take a few items of food, water and medical supplies with you, but most of what you need will be found on the mountain, in the form of native plants, and items left from other climbers. At save points, your tent becomes your hub to cook food, wrap your bloody and battered fingers with tape, and take meds to keep your health topped off. You’ll get various buffs like extra grip or energy boosts from whatever you consume; the strategy comes in with when and where to use them. The devs did a really nice job balancing all the aspects of this side of the game. Like any good survival game, you’ll never quite have enough to keep everything topped off, adding a lot of tension to what is already a fraught experience.
Climbing, of course, is the other half of the Cairn experience, and from my layman’s perspective, it closely represents the real thing. Every step could be your last, and finding the best holds for your hands and feet is absolutely paramount. Some of these are large outcroppings, others no bigger than a finger-width crack in the rock. The best holds are generally easy to see, but a day/night cycle and inclement weather can make even the easiest holds difficult. You’ll get better at reading the wall and finding your way as you progress up the mountain, but the difficulty grows with the altitude, and you’ll find yourself fighting for every inch of progress.
The action is not for the faint of heart, especially in the upper levels of the mountain. The controls are a bit finicky at times, as each of your four limbs is controlled independently (one at a time, not one per key like QWOP). The game will automatically switch to the one it thinks should move next, which isn’t always the one that makes the most sense. You can press a button and stick combination to manually choose, but when things are most intense, that isn’t easy to do. The game generally gets it right, but I can understand how some players might get frustrated at times. But while difficult, the climbing is immensely satisfying when you get in the zone, finding each grip and moving quickly,
As you climb, you’ll rely heavily on pitons. A hook you drill into the mountain, pitons are your saving grace on the unforgiving rock. Place one of those, clip in with your rope, and you have salvation. They will keep you from falling to your death if something goes wrong up the wall, and when you clip in, you regain your stamina and can access your backpack to eat or re-tape your fingers. Place them sparingly and carefully; your supply is limited, though you may find some in your exploring.
Stamina is hugely important here; it determines how long you can grip when traversing between holds. When you find “perfect holds” for all limbs, stamina doesn’t deplete, but at any other time, only your stamina keeps you from falling. There is no gauge; the screen dims when you are about to fall, providing a warning without breaking immersion. Once you get back to good holds, the screen returns to full color, and you can look for your next move.
Route planning is crucial, as you must carefully plot your route up the mountain to avoid sheer faces with no holds and occasional patches of rock that are too hard to allow the use of pitons. The game offers a pulled-back view of a large section of the mountain for this task, and you can occasionally find maps from other climbers that superimpose a black-and-white drawing look with routes marked out based on difficulty.
The Journey is the Reward
Cairn offers fantastic exploration and discovery (and great replayability), as you are well rewarded for spending time moving horizontally as well as vertically. More than once I began to climb, then looked down to see another area that would have allowed me to walk up a gentle rise instead. Throughout the journey, you’ll come across the remains of the now-absent Troglodyte people. These areas, carved directly into the mountain, were a wonderful break from the struggle to climb Kami. They were fascinating to explore, discovering their customs and routines, but also sad to see what they left behind.
There are also random caves where previous climbers had obviously spent time, notes and supplies left behind by those who came before, and larger landmarks like an abandoned cable car station, all of which yield some reward for reaching them. I don’t want to spoil any more of what is out there, just know that it’s worth the time to deviate from the vertical and seek out the mountain’s secrets; I know I’ll be going back for another playthrough to see everything I missed.
The game’s visuals are stylized, which the developers say is part of the studio’s DNA. The natural vistas are the real highlight of the game, and I found myself using photo mode almost every time I could look away from the mountain. Stunning sunsets, star-filled skies, spikes of purple lightning, and even an aurora are waiting for you as you make your way. The soundtrack and sound effects are not over the top but fit the action well, really putting you in the place. When a thunderstorm lets loose, you really feel the lightning, and the rain is both comforting and terrifying as you wait out the storm.
Despite the occasionally finicky controls and difficult gameplay, I really like what is on offer here. With its combination of survival aspects and hold-your-breath climbing, Cairn gave me some of the tensest experiences I’ve ever had with a controller in hand. At one point, I was 45 minutes removed from my last save, out of pitons, starving and half-frozen. I managed to pull myself over the lip of a ridge, spotting a clearly inhabited tent in the middle distance. I had no idea if I would die of exposure before I reached it, but as I stumbled forward, a cutscene kicked in, and I was finally able to exhale. Any game that can grab me like that is worth a few struggles along the way.
Special thanks to The Game Bakers and our PR partners for the code for Cairn. You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.
