What a breath of fresh air. It is almost too difficult to put into words how much there is in this game that I want to comment on.
There is the general tone of a climber that's too obsessed with the goal of conquering the summit. This reminded me very much of Alex Honnold and the 'Free Solo' documentary of him climbing El Capitan. Having watched it I could understand his obsession, but didn't "feel" it. It is such a stupid thing to do all things considered, it's so dangerous, doesn't he have so much to live for? This game made me understand exactly how he must have felt being on the wall and eventually conquering it.
One of the highlights of gaming this year for me was trying to get the 'Don't stop me now' achievement, having to climb 30m without using a piton. I chose the Needle for that. It has been a while since a game provoked such a strong and visceral reaction in me. I could feel my hands getting sweaty on the controller. My grip tightening. Fully focused and immersed into the climb. All I saw WAS the wall, the climb. And the gaping void below. I think at one point I'd love to free solo the whole game.
Funnily enough, the section most people point to as the game's real gauntlet [spoiler] — The Peril — [/spoiler] didn't put up much of a fight for me. Having done some actual climbing myself, I noticed I had an almost intuitive feeling for where a limb should go. Which made me wonder how much of "difficulty" in this game is really about hand-eye coordination versus something closer to real climbing instinct.
Also, quick question, [spoiler] who would actually go back right before the final climb? I identified with Aava so much in this last part of the game. I, too, got the summit fever (though I was sure I'd just belay down again after reaching the top). What an amazing final sequence. "And you - what is your summit," such simple words felt so profound in the moment. [/spoiler] If that's all the game would have been, I'd have been happy all around. But there is one part bugging me that's chips off a little bit from the perfect 10/10 for me.
I don't necessarily need the survival aspect in this game. Getting upgrades and collecting trash to recycle for climbing chalk. I get that this resource should not be infinite, I also like the thought of collecting the trash left by others from the mountain. It just makes the game feel tedious where it doesn't really have to be. Then again, [spoiler] the way of story telling through finding failed climbers before you, suspended in the last moment of their climb, rummaging through their backpacks like a hungry bear I found interesting and genuinely unique. [/spoiler] I usually don't mind managing my status bars. It just felt a little out of place or rather in the way in a game that was able to mimic the intense feeling of climbing so well. That's the parts that made me feel, 'Oh! I'm playing a video game, right. Gotta look for some water to make me a tea.' The same illusion-breaking happened when Aava would slip and fall like one foot down a rock and screech in anger. Like girl, you weren't even climbing yet, chill!
Very minor gripes in a game that generally felt very unique and effective in what it was trying to convey. I absolutely loved Cairn.
9.5/10
(One practical note, unrelated to the above: if you're playing on Steam Deck, be aware it's unfortunately still very poorly optimized — expect real frame drops. Doesn't affect my score, just a heads-up.)
