Cairn

Cairn is just really nice to play, with an emotionally gripping story and beautiful sights. You will struggle and get frustrated, but you will overcome whatever is in your way.

A brilliant climbing adventure that siphons the rage out of navigation puzzlers like Death Stranding and Baby Steps, resulting in something prickly, but warmly approachable.

Cairn is a magical zen journey into the world of mountaineering. The story is quite compelling with its subtle nature, the visuals utilize the cel-shaded art style beautifully, and the gameplay is perfectly satisfying, making the mechanics of climbing and managing your health feel challenging and fun. While there are some physics glitches, these problems are minor compared to just how good the overall game is.

A video game has never made my palms this sweaty. The majority of my Cairn playthrough saw me on the edge of my seat, utterly breathless, hands slipping on my controller as I edged Aava up a series of increasingly sketchy pitches. This is one of those special games we don’t get very often, one that leans hard into a specific interest and nails all of the important elements. It’s got a simple story that will tug at your heart and gameplay that will test your nerve. Cairn is a must-play game, especially if you’ve got even a passing interest in climbing.

Cairn is a fantastic game that delivers an experience that tries both your thinking and stick skills. Aava is a unique character that serves as a great conduit to the emotions that you may go through while playing and all of its gameplay components work together to make the climb totally worth it.

Cairn is a deceptively brutal climbing game at times, but the beautiful visuals, varied story threads and tactile mechanics ensure it's a climb worth making.

Cairn is an extremely good and beautifully made climbing game that is exceptional at executing the one specific thing it's trying to recreate. If you go in knowing that and are on board with it, then you'll find a tough yet massively rewarding experience, but some frustrations could cause others to completely bounce off it.

Cairn is a single player, story focused, survival game about climbing a mountain. You won’t be leaping from platform to platform, or swinging round a sledgehammer to propel yourself and your cauldron, though. No, you’ll actually be climbing, moving each of your limbs one at a time to grab handholds and wedge into cracks to scale an entire mountain. It’s not a small one, either, and it’s already populated by the remains of those who have tried and failed to reach the summit before you. It’s a dangerous situation that, somehow, becomes incredibly relaxing and meditative once you get used to it.

Cairn is a zen, meditative survival game defined by the intentionality of its movement and the way you interact with its world - when its protagonist can be prevailed upon to act like the elite athlete she's supposed to be. When it works, it's excellent, but its core system is often too clumsy to bring to bear with the precision required to ape top-level climbing.

A flawed but brilliant mountaineering game that splices survival gameplay and a fascinating four-limb climbing system with exploration, risk-taking, and the emotional fallout from a climber’s loved ones.

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Cairn isn't just a good game, it's a great game. With an incredibly nuanced story and a difficulty level that will challenge almost anyone, there's not a lot to hate here. The anger, sadness, joy, and surprise all culminate into a journey that isn't just a game; it's something far more meaningful. This is a game everyone should play if only to experience that nuanced story of Aava's journey. While I wasn't expecting to connect so emotionally with this game, I'm glad I did. Cairn is a story that needs to be heard. Although it isn't perfect, what makes it special is the combination of all the di...