Cairn News

[p]Hi climbers, [/p][p][/p][p]We work hard to make our games as accessible as possible and for Cairn we have some features like the Rewind that will make a big difference. Yesterday, Cairn was a part of the Access-Ability showcase where we presented Cairn’s accessibility features.[/p][p][/p][p]Watch the video below, and keep reading to get a more in-depth list.[/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]There are two main features that we think will be game changers in making Cairn more accessible:[/p][p][/p][p]Rewind is our key accessibility feature. Climbing is challenging, and everything can change in the blink of an eye. With rewind, you can get back to where you were before you made a mistake. This allows you to try again right in the midst of the action, and also to experiment![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Another feature we know players will appreciate is the ability to rebind all inputs. While the climbing inputs are simple, we know everyone has a preference on how to map their controller or keyboard. This will also allow Cairn to function on most adaptive controllers.[/p][p][/p][p]Here’s a list of more accessibility options you’ll have access to in the full game, and what we took into consideration so Cairn is accessible by design:[/p]

• [p]The UI never relies on color only. There's always an accompanying animation or design that allows the game to be played without color perception.[/p]
• [p]Our UI texts are large (there's no option, but the smaller text in Cairn is approximately as big as the biggest text in most games)[/p]
• [p]UI is minimal, but the climbing cues are both visual and auditory. When your stamina runs low, the breathing changes, the limbs start to shake, and the camera zooms in.[/p]
• [p]Cairn lets you select your route, which also allows you to control the difficulty level of your ascent.[/p]
• [p]There are 3 different difficulty levels: Explorer, Alpinist, and Free solo.[/p]
• [p]There's an option for an Assist mode, which greatly reduces difficulty[/p]
• [p]The game is localized, fully subtitled, with subtitles designed for readability.[/p]
• [p]And many other options that will enhance accessibility:[/p]
  • [p]Option to skip the piton mini-game that requires timing[/p]
  • [p]Option to highlight limbs when climbing, which improves visibility[/p]
  • [p]Option to switch between "Hold" or "Toggle" for inputs[/p]
  • [p]Option to invert the X/Y axis[/p]
  • [p]A slider for vibration intensity[/p]
  • [p]You can pause the game[/p]
  • [p]All cutscenes are skippable[/p]

Hello climbers!

We know you are all itching to start Kami’s ascent, and we get it - so are we. We’re super excited to announce Cairn will launch November 5, 2025 🎉

Do you ever wonder what’s pushing Aava to attempt this once in a lifetime climb? Alpinism is freeing, but also grueling and dangerous. Our latest trailer explores her determination, the encounters she’ll make on her way up and Kami’s long lost past... You’ll also see more about a new gameplay feature: ice climbing!! and what it’s like to climb at high altitude. Watch it below 🏔️

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


You’re also hearing in the trailer the first track of our collab with The Toxic Avenger. We have an amazing team of musicians working on Cairn, read more here: https://www.thegamebakers.com/the-great-people-behind-cairns-music/

Thank you all for the support you’ve given us since Cairn was revealed, it really keeps us going in these last few months of development to give you the best game we can.

Hi everyone,

We're back with a demo update, and improvements a lot of you have been requesting!

Most of the time, it's good to rely on the game's calculations to select the best limb to move next. It's smooth and efficient. But there's always this one time where you want total control. We heard you. So we are introducing New manual limb selection modes! Not one, not two, but four different control schemes to suit all playstyles!

These are the different modes to pick from: face buttons and shoulder buttons on gamepad, WASD on keyboard, and a quadrant selection on both.


After some testing, we think these are the best ways to let you manually control the limbs, but of course we'd love to hear what you think about it.

This update is also introducing Korean localization, welcome Korean players!

We have also fixed a few bugs:

• Manual limb selection: improved limb detection when selecting with the stick, added a visual helper
  
• Some fixes on the rope to avoid weird movement
  
• Fixed several low reproduction soft lock
  
• Fixed PS4 controller displaying Xbox inputs
  
• Fixed off-belay detection
  
• Fixed camera going through ground during recap path
  
• Minor LD fixes to avoid being stuck in narrow spaces
  
• Minor localization fixes and missing prompts
  

Hi everyone!

It’s our last day before we leave for the holidays, and it’s been two incredible weeks meeting all the new Cairn players. We truly enjoyed seeing your screenshots, routes, and speedruns of the demo, and we’re excited to see what you do with the full game on REDACTED, 2025. 👀

Since it is the season of gifts, we figured we could do one to all of you: keeping the demo up.

We originally planned to pull it down yesterday, and let you get lost in the Steam Winter Sale (Furi’s 70% off wink-wink), but it would feel wrong to pull the demo when you’re still playing it. So you can have it at least until the holidays are over!

Depicted: Aava enjoying the colder season

Thank you all for being a part of the community, and sharing your feedback, accomplishments and screenshots with us. Happy holidays, and see you in the next year!

Our last Cairn demo competition, certainly not the least, has ended! We saw some incredibly dedicated speedrunners play the demo and aim for the fastest runs in four categories:

• reaching the summit
  
• opening the box in the gym
  
• reaching the summit with all 9 pitons
  
• grabbing the honey
  

Do we approve every strat that was found? Probably not. We can’t approve hurting Aava. But are we impressed at the creativity to go faster? We sure are.

Congratulations to our winners, MagicScrab (summit, honey), Snoom (box) and Krwmble (all pitons)!

Here’s MagicScrab’s winning summit run! Think you can beat it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpYJFQ7nhEE


note: The thumbnail is the gym's heatmap. Each dot is a player, and the color represents their stamina. In green, they're feeling good. In red... not so much!