Cairn (2026)

Cairn looks simply resonant.

It has an emotional grip in the trailer. Except its disappointing to see the limbs pop, snap and overextend during the climbing - the very core of the gameplay. I hope the discrepancy can hold fast.

Such a thing can be handwaved in the goofiness of Peak but it looks terribly out of place in Cairn, when everything else aims for something much, much higher.

Ladies, gentlemen and everyone in between they just dropped a new podcast game and I am HOOKED (Pun intended).

It's so much prettier than I expected, which is so crucial. I look forward to really earning some beautiful screenshots going forward. It has that tedious meticulousness that I felt a game like Jusant just lacked for me. It's got a lovably angry protagonist that I can't wait to get to know. It's giving 'adult coming of age' and I'm so excited.

I can't wait to sacrifice my already nonexistent social life to this game. It's turning out to be everything I wanted it to be.

Really glad I played the demo cuz uh... Yikes, I had no expectations, but this ain't it.

I think I was expecting something like an exploration game where climbing was simply a theme, but no, it's more like Mount Your Friends or I Am Bread where it's got this goofy ragdoll limb thing going on. It looks absolutely ridiculous, and even just climbing the tutorial walls was an experience in frustration.

It seems to be going for a somewhat serious tone, but I really have no faith in its ability to accomplish that when your limbs are flopping all around like you're Octodad or Ernest Evans.

Would not be surprised if people who are into climbing are into this, cuz I could see the science of identifying handholds and manipulating your body to get there coming into play here. If I had to guess, that's who this game is aimed at.

But it's not what I was hoping. Alas.

Tried the demo and quite enjoyed it.

I can do without the survival elements, since personally I'm just not a big fan of survival games that require you to eat and drink and rest. But other than that I liked the challenge of figuring out a good route and scaling the sheer cliffside.

I can't say I fully grasped all the mechanics - what is a proper grip and why sometimes my legs slid off the wall, or how exactly the stamina system works. Also, it's a bit annoying that your character can block your view of the wall and obscure a nook I could've used.

Still not sure if I'll play the full game, but it was fun so it's something to consider