New survival-climber game Cairn has just announced it’ll be coming to PlayStation 5 alongside it’s PC release. Cairn is the latest game by The Game Bakers, the studio behind Furi and Haven. Promising to immerse players with realistic climbing mechanics, Cairn has players climbing the unforgiving and treacherous Mount Kami. Featuring art from the comic-book artist Mathieu Bablet (Carbon & Silicon, Shangri-La) and music and sound design from the team behind Limbo, Inside, Control, and COCOON. Cairn looks and sounds gorgeous with perilous gameplay and an award-winning team behind it.
Originally announced at Summer Games Fest last year, French game studio The Game Bakers announced their follow-up to Haven and Furi. Later that year in December, The Game Bakers announced a Steam demo for Cairn and to say it was well received is an understatement. Nearly 5000 reviews on the demo and it currently sits at Overwhelmingly Positive for both recent and all reviews. It seems players really enjoy helping Aava achieve her ascent of Mount Kami. Some of the reviews even mention how well it runs on the Steam Deck, so I’m currently downloading the demo right now. Let’s find out what you’ll be doing in Cairn.
Cairn Key Features
- The Ascent of a Lifetime – As pro climber Aava, you embark on the ascent of Mount Kami, a summit that has never been reached. Along the journey, meet unexpected companions and hear from those left on the ground. Discover the mountain’s history and decide what Aava is willing to sacrifice to achieve the her dream.
- Realistic Climbing Simulation – Cairn’s simulation allows intuitive climbing: find the best holds and place your hands and feet seamlessly with simple controls. Adapt your posture, effort and balance —if you’re not careful, you will fall!
- Open Your Own Route – You are free to climb anywhere. Explore the mountain, read the rock face from the ground and plan your route carefully to reach the top. Solve problems while on the wall to navigate difficult sections. You can climb on anything, so choose your path wisely!
- Climbing is a Fight – Climbing is challenging: each wall feels like a boss fight. A thrilling challenge for those eager to test themselves, but you can also adjust the difficulty to customise your experience.
- Survive the Deadly Mountain – Manage your resources to survive during the long ascent: pitons, chalk, finger tape… but also food, water and medicine. Set up bivouacs and explore the mountain to find resources to reach the summit.
- Endless Replayability – in Expedition mode, choose Aava or Marco and attack different mountains your way: select your climbing style (alpine, free solo) and challenges to take on. Compare your performance with other climbers.
The trailer paints a picture of a practical climb with backpack management, realistic limb control, and an innovative approach to climbing. With no official release date, The Game Bakers hopes to have Cairn out in 2025, and with the reception the demo has gotten, it looks like Cairn is coming along nicely. Both the Steam and PlayStation versions are available for wishlisting. Cairn’s demo is currently only available on Steam. All of us here at MonsterVine are anticipating Cairn‘s release later this year.
