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Cairn is a stylish survival-climber from the creators of Furi and Haven, in which you must guide pro climber Aava on the ascent of a lifetime to the never-before reached summit of Mount Kami. As seen during the Future Games Show Summer Showcase, there are many challenges for her to face during this climb.
The climbing mechanic in Cairn provides a realistic yet intuitive simulation, as you move your hands and feet between ledges and holds using simple controls. However, you'll need to pick your route carefully and manage your balance as you ascend, as if you expend too much stamina in your current position you'll fall and get injured or worse. Along the way you can drive in pitons to provide anchor points if you fall, but you only have a limited number of them per climb.
Pitons aren't the only resource you need to look after, with other climbing gear such as chalk and finger tape coming into play. There's also the survival aspect to consider, where food, water, and medicine needs to be managed effectively and scavenged were possible to keep your supplies topped up. Marked points on the mountain allow you to set up a bivouac, where you can save your progress, cook, and rest before continuing your perilous journey.
The video above also shows climbing at high altitudes for the first time, where you'll encounter ice walls that can only be ascended with ice axes and shoe spikes, which need to be aimed at cracks and edges to get a proper grip. The system even supports mixed climbing, using a combination of standard gear and ice tools to straddle the two different surface types simultaneously.
Cairn is launching later in 2025 for PC and PS5, but you can wishlist it on Steam and go for a practice climb in the demo available now on both PC and PS5.
If you’re looking for more excellent games from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.
