Cairn Review | A Pinnacle Worth Reaching For

What is the cost of fulfilling your dreams? Is it worth leaving those who love you behind to complete your sole purpose?

Cairn follows Aava, a famed mountain climber who is dead set on conquering the insurmountable climb to the unattainable summit of Kami. At its core, Cairn is a realistic climbing adventure that is surprisingly intuitive to play. Controling Aava, youfinding cracks in the rock faces and correctly placing one of her limbs on those points to traverse the terrain by moving the selected limb around and pressing the grab button to latch onto. The game automatically chooses which hand or foot needs to be moved next based on Aava’s grip and balance. This works extremely well for the most part, but there are times when I feel like I need to move a hand to grip instead of the foot that the game auto-selected for me, which may cause panic in what is already a stressful (by design) moment. Unlike some other climbing mechanics in other games, you can not take a break mid-climb. The game forces you to continue to move and look for the correct path, which helps you feel immersed and feel the wind on the side of this gigantic rock.

When you start Aava’s climb, there is not much to worry about other than selecting the correct path ahead. But as I got higher and higher, more things caused me to be aware of my surroundings. Weather conditions at the higher altitudes can change on a dime, and it’s not just an aesthetic choice. Rain makes the surfaces slick, which causes Aava to lose her grip on the rock face. Gusts of wind may throw Aava off balance, causing her to fall to her demise. 

Luckily, like any prepared climber, you have at your disposal pitons.  are metal anchors that you can drill into the rock to secure your placement and allow you to wait for these conditions to pass. But not every rock has sections where this will work. Some walls are too dense to allow for a piton to be screwed in, which caused me to make damn sure I had enough handholds and footrests on the path to be successful. They are limited, so making sure to pace them out throughout the upwards climb is key. If you feel like you need more, there is a handy assist option that allows unlimited pitons to ease the frustration of falling and losing progress. Chalk is another helpful climbing tool you can use to strengthen your grip on some of the most arduous cliff faces. But if you are not careful with its use, you will run out of it in the moments when you need it the most. 

Your backpack is also an essential tool for surviving Kami. Along the climb, Aava will discover backpacks filled with food, snacks, medicine, and drinks from fellow climbers who were not so lucky and perished on their pilgrimage to the summit. Climbing is an exhaustive and draining endeavor, so keeping an eye on the hunger, thirst, and temperature meters becomes essential. These pickups can be eaten on their own to little effect on these meters, but holding onto them until you get to use your bivouac (portable climbing tent) at save points will allow you to cook them to create food with higher levels of sustenance. These cooked foods also provide buffs that can help make difficult terrain easier for Aava to traverse. These include burst, which allows you to move much quicker up the mountain, focus that makes your stamina regenerate quicker, and a grip buff that makes each hold stronger and use less stamina. Once you eat a food or drink some water, that inventory space in the backpack is filled with trash, which you need to find a way to get rid of without littering and leaving it in nature.  

Enter the final vital climbing tool that is less grounded in reality: your climb bot. The climb bot is Aava’s own personal climbing buddy that joins her on this pilgrimage and has been with her from the beginning of her climbing career. It is responsible for retrieving pitons entrenched in the walls, restoring broken pitons (which are pieces that break when you don’t correctly succeed during the mini game when using one) into usable ones, and composting that trash from food waste into chalk to replenish your supply. The climb bot is also your window to the outside world, as messages from loved ones can be played to give me even more insight into Aava and her psyche for why she is here, traversing Kami. 

This is where Cairn truly shines. With each incoming message, I learn about the ones close to Aava. Her partner Naomi and their pet cat Capsule, who is trying to figure out exactly why she would vanish without much notice and is trying to reason with her to come back. Her agent, Chris, who is freaking out about Aava heading out on this climb without a film crew and begging her to think of the sponsors. Coming across some unexpected NPCs on the climb up also builds out a world that feels lived in. These are real people, going through real problems, and have existed in this space for a while now.

The seamless and effortless weaving of narrative with the game design of climbing up the mountain is what is still sticking with me as I write this. Without spoiling it, there is a section of the climb that happens immediately after a very intense and emotional narrative moment where the mountainside has fewer sure-fire handholds. The winds became stronger and tried their hardest to push you off. Rain is constant, and your grips keep failing. Aava and I shared the same frustration at that moment because we were reeling over the events that had just transpired. I was angry, sad, and overcome with guilt. Our breathing and tension synced up. The climb got difficult because our lives became the same. That marriage of gameplay adding to the narrative and vice versa is a huge standout and something that I haven’t felt since Celeste. That synchronicity was present throughout my 11-hour journey. 

I would be mistaken if I did not briefly shout out all of the voice performances present in Cairn. Each character is so wonderfully brought to life, but Sophia Eleni (with contributions from Camille Constantin Da Silva and Gildaa), who plays Aava, is extraordinary. When award season arrives later this year, I hope she is considered for a nomination. The soundtrack from Martin Stig Andersen, The Toxic Avenger, and Gildaa is also phenomenal. The score times up with emotional beats, significant progress points, and adds to the environment in stunning fashion. 

The only negatives that I would give Cairn are on the technical side. Frames can suddenly drop out of nowhere. Surfaces may not register as ones that Aava can walk on, and some wonky camera movement may cause an avoidable death. I fell into the mountain, which could only be reset by loading a previous save, resulting in lost time and progress. Regardless, these are small blemishes on what is a total package. 

I was so thrilled with my experience with Cairn that I am itching to start a new ascent and try harder paths. The Game Bakers have developed an incredibly thoughtful and meaningful experience, and it will be tough to top for other games releasing the rest of the year. 

Breakdown

Game Name: Cairn

Developer: The Game Bakers

Publisher: The Game Bakers

Platforms: PC via Steam and Epic Game Store, PlayStation 5

Game Length: Between 10-15 hours 

Accessibility Options (Taken from official website): Fall Rewind

Rebinding Inputs

Difficulty Levels and Assist Mode (Auto saving, infinite climbing gear resources, no survival elements).

Option to skip the piton mini-game that requires timing

Option to highlight limbs when climbing, which improves visibility

Option to invert the X/Y axis

A slider for vibration intensity

All cutscenes are skippable 

Fully subtitled and localized

Large text

Final Thoughts

Cairn’s ability to merge narrative with gameplay so seamlessly is a sight to behold. The climbing mechanics are simple, but rewarding and fair. The voice cast is phenomenal and is joined by a stellar soundtrack that enhances every step. Some technical hiccups seem to pop up during the most unfortunate times, but those are minor blemishes on what is a must-play in 2026.

Key provided by popagenda. Reviewed on PlayStation 5.