Cairn (2025)

[h1]Mind blowing piece of art[/h1] What an absolute marvel and masterpiece this game is. Once again indie triumphs over AAA slop which is creatively bankrupt. Cairn may seem like only a mountain climbing game but it's so much more. It's a struggle, an experience, overcoming, learning from your mistakes and learning to not give up. With an emotional well written story on top. Not much to say about the story without spoiling but it's a real emotional ride through discovering yourself, thinking of the past and overcoming. It makes you think and leave sin awe. Gameplay is to climb the mountain. Sounds simple but it's a challenge you must overcome. I played this twice during steam next fest and instantly wishlisted it even though it felt a bit janky. Most of the time you be climbing and learning the game. No hud, just you and the mountain. Listen, listen and feel the wind, the pain, the emotion, the struggle. You control each limb separately and limb placement is extremely important. It's a slow game, rushing may lead to dire consequences. You must become Aava and listen to her breathing, manage stamina, food and drink. The mountain section might seem small from the first sight and there you are – spending one hour to climb 30 meters. You'll fall, you're gonna rage but then you're gonna breathe and try again and again and again. There are some cut-scenes and optional stuff to discover like mini-quests and lots of lore to find. So exploration is a thing and it pays off to explore. Resource management is another important thing of the game. You have to gather food and water and then cook it. There are plenty of recipes which you must discover. Backpack management is also important since you can only fit limited amount of supplies. So knowing what you need for the next climb is important. Other things to look out for are wind, cold and rain. So you'll have to keep those in mind and maybe sometimes look at the weather forecast. The atmosphere of the game is stunning. Sometimes you climb up to some absolutely optional area and just sit and stare at the horizon. It takes you away. This game is a piece of art. Game has difficulty settings for different people to enjoy the game. If you want easier experience you play on easy and don't worry much about failing since you can rewind. Middle difficulty takes you to the last save spot after dying. And the hardest one, oh well – one fall and you restart the entire journey. So it satisfies everyone which is kinda rare to see these days because many games lack difficulty setting and don't let people to enjoy games. Graphically the game is stunning. It has cell shaded graphical style which give the game more substance and makes it look more unique rather than vanilla assets of generic npc A and B. the environments are crafted with care, every single corner is handcrafted and in general game looks great from close up and far away. You can almost feel it. Performance is decent. Could be better but considering it's a small indie studio who delivered better experience than some AAA studios with 50mil budgets, the performance is ok. Sound design is another area this game succeeds. Even though there's not much talking, the voice acting is good. But the most important part are the environmental sounds and Aava. Sound isn't only a sound, it's a gameplay element, it partially functions as a hud. It's an outstanding game which will go into history as a piece of art and no one forgets good art. It's thought provoking, accessible, beautiful, heartbreaking experience with deep and complex climbing mechanics. Get this at any price any time if you're not against chill, slow games. [b]Pros[/b] [list] [*]Aava's character is well written [*]Emotional story [*]Looks beautiful [*]Complex yet fun climbing mechanics [*]Difficulty options [*]Great sound design [*]Very chill yet challenging gameplay [*]It's an experience [*]This game is art [*]DLC will be free [/list] [b]Cons[/b] [list] [*]Minor performance issues [*]Sometimes limb placement is just aaargh [/list] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32930811-Kosmos%27s-Cosmic-reviews/?appid=704030][h1]Follow my curator page for more[/h1][/url] [url=https://www.twitch.tv/crazykosmikbunny] [h1]My Twitch[/h1] [/url]

One of the most beautiful and stressful game i have played till date. It annoyed the sh*t out of me. For anyone thinking of picking this up. Please do it without thinking. Also remember "Hesitation is defeat".

Cairn is about the human obsession with pushing boundaries, facing our fears, and rise above ourself. But it doesn't portray this journey as heroic, it always highlights all the sacrifices that have to be made. All of this is combined with real fun gameplay, thick atmosphere, and a good challenge. It is absolutely brilliant!