"I'm an awful rock climber. Being scared of heights probably doesn't help. But when I've tried it, I've loved the slow, methodical work of moving from one ledge to the next. It reminds me a lot of why I love running; in both sports, you achieve goals that seem insurmountable by taking them one step at a time. Cairn, a new game from The Game Bakers, is one of the few games I've played that truly captures that feeling."
"You play as Aava, a famous climber obsessed with summiting a mountain called Kami. You climb by moving all four of Aava's limbs, one by one, to find safe cracks, bumps, and ledges to let you inch your way higher, all while managing tools and resources carried in your backpack. Climbing games are becoming something of a trend, but Cairn is different from Jusant, where you just control the character's hands, or Baby Steps, a sillier game where you just control the character's feet."
Aava is a famous climber obsessed with summiting Kami. Players move Aava's four limbs one at a time to find cracks, bumps, and ledges while managing tools and resources in a backpack. The slow, methodical movement emphasizes incremental progress and mirrors the satisfaction of running and climbing. Cairn's mechanics recreate the tactile decision-making and careful planning required for real climbing. The game contrasts with other recent climbing titles by offering full-limb control and deliberate pacing rather than simplified hand- or foot-focused inputs. The design rewards patience and teaches that challenging goals can be achieved step by step.
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]