One of the nicer Industry Trends of the past few years has been the rise and rise and rise of climbing sims. It turns out climbing is a source of many emotions, from the melancholy wonder of Jusant through the savage loneliness of Lorn’s Lure to the slapstick camaraderie of Peak and the agony of various Sisyphus sims. Also Celeste. And I guess we should mention Getting Over It here? See, it’s an absolute avalanche.
Cairn is on the somber side. Created by The Game Bakers, it’s about a woman with bandaged legs and a scuttling robo buddy. She’s trying to reach the top of a mysterious mountain, with a selection of routes to choose from and a backpack inventory to manage. I get the sense that there’s more up there than goats, snow and the tents of fellow climbers. We will find out shortly, for Cairn is on sale now on Steam.
