Cairn is a game about climbing a mountain almost completely unassisted. This makes the mechanics of the process quite interesting. You get to control the routes and specific pathways to scaling a cliff face; even control the movement of the hiker’s limbs as they try to grip onto indentations on the rocky surfaces. Lots of microdecisions, almost like solving a puzzle. But for me, it’s the idea of the very situation that’s fascinating. Like, what do you mean Aava (the lead character in the game that does the hike) doesn’t even use oxygen cylinders and pickaxes to start with, knowing that she’s climbing up this daunting, murderous mountain? This could never be me. Life is difficult as it is. But maybe people like Aava don’t find this difficult. Maybe they think it is fun!
So I played the game, and I thought a little more critically about this question. Did I find the game fun? Before I answer that, I want to unpack this game a bit more. Climbing, as an action, has long since been included in most adventure videogames. The early Assassin’s Creed games had these complex scaling sequences. You could climb historically important monuments by finding the path of least resistance to get to the very top. These were recognisable old structures — like the Colosseum, the Florence cathedral, and it felt kind of satisfying to be a part of that history. Ghost of Tsushima has now adopted a similar mechanic in its shrine quests. But, there’s a critical difference here. These games aren’t about climbing at all. The climbing serves as a break from the tedium of the main quests, and are peaceful environmental puzzles that balance things off nicely. But a whole game that’s basically just climbing? Could that be fun?
The good thing is that Cairn isn’t just about climbing. There’s an important survival component to the game that can make the climbing a bit more challenging. Limited resources need to be rationed to make sure that you actually have the stamina to make it to the peak. It did very much dictate the routes I chose to take at different points in the game. If I saw something far away that looked like an old backpack that contained some essential resources — I’d spend a lot of time scaling that cliff, even if it seemed more challenging than the alternate routes. In Cairn, taking risks like this pay off! You could find a map to a secret hideout, or guidance in understanding terrain better which could help you further in the game.
But that makes it quite similar to Peak, a game that some of you might know from last year. Peak is also about climbing and survival. I compare these games, because I never found myself questioning whether or not Peak was fun. Yes, Peak still requires you to make micro decisions. But it shines in its replayability — it had procedurally generated maps that changed every day. And, you could play Peak with friends! Friends that could help you climb up, share the load, and also haunt you as a ghost and provide unsolicited guidance as you continue to scale up the mountain.
Meanwhile, Cairn is fun in the way that the myth of Sisyphus is fun. It’s a pointless activity to scale up the mountain with no obvious reward at any point during the climb. It doesn’t make you laugh the way Peak does, and neither does it give you distractions in the form of main quests (like the adventure games). It’s quiet, and wants you to be introspective as you face nothing but endless rock in front of you. It makes you savour the small, peaceful breaks in-between climbs. And observe the cycles of day and night over a beautiful expanse of green (that eventually turns to snow). Seriously, the game looks amazing.
I played it on the PlayStation 5 (but it’s also available for the PC), and I believe it’s best played with a controller. The game places a lot of importance on small specific movements — including the strength of a grip on the rocks, and your decision on the next movements are dictated by haptic feedback and vocal reactions that you get from Aava.
Cairn is definitely not for everyone. But if you are looking for an artificially induced uphill battle, that makes you work very hard to find joy, consider this game.