Cairn: Mathair's Curse

I'm in love with this game <3 Would I recommend this game? ABSOLUTELY! For what I have played of it so far, its one of the best I have played so far <3 Thank you so much for making such a beautiful game Here is to more games like this in the Future =)

Going into Cairn, I was originally intrigued by (rather blatant) Mother inspiration and promise of a "Scottish JRPG". Games of a similar influence (Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, and Lisa: The Painful, for instance) have always been a joy to me, and I'm always open to trying new projects by smaller developers - especially those of a similar vein. Immediately the passion was apparent to me. Despite never having visited Scotland myself, this game is certainly Scottish. I could feel McRitchie's adoration for his home from the beginning. The first half of this tale is where the story thrives. It feels like home, and the sense of exploration throughout a familiar place, but to places you've never seen before is something that resonates with my own childhood. Jumping into the actual game itself. First impressions are immediately with the art style - as your first true combat encounter doesn't occur for little while after the slow-paced, but comfortable introduction. What I noticed right away was how Alex, the protagonist, looked exactly like an edited version of Lucas' child sprite from Mother 3. This is also seemingly the case for Eilidh and Robbie later on. Of course, I'm not sure how accurate this is, but from the outset, it sure looks that way. Not exactly an issue, all works, especially games, draw inspiration from a variety of sources. However, the issue is, as I progressed through the game, I began to realise that not only was the game's art style (at least in the overworld and battles) largely informed by Mother 3, but the game's structure as a whole. Examples such as the second chapter of the game taking place in an old castle and the penultimate chapter (being the lengthiest by far) following the cast traversing the land to several locations in search of mystical McGuffins to defeat the antagonist. Also, it goes without saying, a throughline theme of family and especially a boy's relation to his mother stands at the forefront. These are only surface level observations to share without blatant spoilers, but I'm sure you get the idea. The soundtrack is quite enjoyable. Once again, I am left questioning if the soundfont is that of Mother 3's. I can spot that familiar bassline anywhere! Similar, again, to the Mother series is that there are several battle themes, but they're largely not specific to a single enemy, but rather, certain enemies draw from a pool of songs. You will be hearing the same themes all the way to the finale, but at least the variety keeps it from growing dull unlike some JRPGs out there. Quite moody in general, the soundtrack fits the overall more dour tone of the game. Onto combat. I purchased the game after a patch introduced early game nerfs to foes and later game buffs. Of both, I am left questioning their original strength. It's impossible to please everyone, I understand this, but overall I found the game to be on the easier end of similar games of the genre (drawing comparison to Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, for example). I only died to get each respective achievement, and never struggled at all in the game. Perhaps the early game was more challenging originally, but I cannot help but feel a tinge of disappoint in that I did not experience that supposed difficulty, as I did find the challenge overall underwhelming. Later game enemies and bosses were allegedly buffed, but again I found them rather lacking. The only fight that required a bit more thought than "spam strong attacks and heal when needed" was the final one, but even then it came and went without much fanfare. And, unfortunately, I would have to say the same about the entire plot. It begins with a lot of intrigue and offered a lot of promise. Indeed, it was enough to inspire me to see it all the way through, but I can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed. The first half of the game as I mentioned earlier is when the game shines. Once chapter 7 rolls around, though, I find it goes off the rails. Events come and go without too much conflict on the player's part (perhaps largely as a consequence for the simple gameplay). The "ancient conspiracy" isn't all too interesting, and the main antagonist's motivations feel like they require some elaboration. Ultimately my main criticism is the enemy variety. Foes you encounter in the first chapter are fought repeatedly all the way up until the climax, only with upscaled stats of course. I understand how challenging it is to create an enemy and animate it, but some true variety would go a long way. During the aforementioned final two chapters I primarily just ran past enemies because of fatigue of fighting the same things over and over. Especially since, unfortunately, the most common enemy in these sections being things like bats, bugs and spheres of ectoplasm ultimately are not too interesting and don't really justify their use all the way until the end. One reason I adore JRPGs is the wacky enemies you encounter and I do find that rather lacking here on the whole. I may sound very critical/negative in this review, but that's because I do appreciate smaller projects. I want them to succeed and I hope these words reach the developer. Overall, I enjoyed my experience despite some misgivings. It was enough to warrant me to set aside time to see through all the way to the end, and with how difficult it is to make games, I think that is an achievement in of itself.

I’ve been much delayed in writing this review, but I absolutely loved my time with Cairn! I’d strongly recommend this game to fans of Earthbound/Mother or quirky JRPGs. The story remains compelling throughout, the combat is enjoyable, and the Scotland-inspired world feels fully realized with the right balance of humor, depth, and self-awareness. As someone who has been (im)patiently waiting for over a decade for the Mother 4 fan game (now Oddity), Cairn perfectly scratched that itch. I’ve tried several Mother/Earthbound-liked over the years, but this was the only game to feel like a proper extension of the series while establishing its own identity. PROs: [list] [*]Charming world, story, dialogue, and characters. One of the few games where I felt compelled to speak to every NPC. [*]Solid art and sound direction. The art style is well-implemented and cohesive with lots of little details to admire in each environment. Loved most of the bgm and am looking forward to listening to them regularly [*]Engaging plot that kept me hooked throughout my ~30 hour campaign. Chapter 1 had a decent number of parallels to Mother but the plot really started to come into its own with Chapters 2 & 3 and maintained that momentum for the rest of the game. [*]Fun exploration and solid level design. The areas you traverse are a lot of fun to explore, with dead ends always leading to a useful item or interesting place. Consumables are extra useful in this game as a key recovery method so finding a good one is a more exciting for me than in most JRPGs. The chapters that give you wide areas to explore and lots of NPCs to engage with were consitently my favorites. [/list] MIXED: [list] [*]Combat is good but could be even better. I like the combat overall and it’s got enough to keep me engaged, yet it all feels a bit “by the numbers” and I was hoping it’d have a more of a unique flair to it. I like that you can restore Life and Spirit by blocking which makes that a more useful action than most games, but it’s missing something like Mother 3’s rhythm-based extra hits to help it stand out. [*]Pacing is solid overall but best in the heavy exploration chapters (e.g. Chapter 3). There was never a point where I wasn’t enjoying myself, yet the times I enjoyed MOST were the chapters where there were lots of places to explore, people to talk to, and unique sidequests to complete. All of these help make the world feel more full, and create moments where Cairn’s Earthbound/Mother influence can be felt most in the scenarios or things NPCs say or do that feel a bit wacky yet relatable [*]The game can be challenging or unforgiving at points, but it’s never insurmountable or something that blocked me. The 1.1 patch that adds recovery options and tweaks exp gains has helped, but in my first playthrough there were a few times where I felt so dependent on consumables for recovery of Life and Spirit that I ran from most battles. Even with that being the case, I only felt compelled to farm exp in 2 parts of the game for 20-30 minutes each, and both were to make exploring a bit easier rather than feeling like I HAD to level up to progress. I still think progression could be improved a bit but it’s in a better place thanks to the dev listening to and quickly addressing feedback in their own way. [*] The polish of the game is pretty good but there were a couple rough edges (mostly minor, you can see reports on this game’s community board) that the dev has thankfully been quick to address with hotfixes (often fixed the same day they were reported). There may be other bugs I didn’t encounter in my playthrough, but don’t let that stop you from experiencing this wonderful game. If you do notice any bugs I’m sure the dev will address them swiftly once reported. [/list] I don’t have anything I’d consider a CON for this game. The things I feel mixed on could be improved but aren’t serious detractors as the dev has already made some updates to address (e.g. adding recovery points, tweaking exp gains, etc.). I was hooked when this game came out, beating it within the first 5 days of release, and was waiting to post a review until I got far enough in a second playthrough to see how the 1.1 update improved things. While there are still opportunities for improvement, the things I would have listed as CONs before (difficult early game and lack of recovery options) I’m more MIXED on now. All-in-all an excellent game and one I know I’ll be enjoying and revisiting for years to come. If I were to rate it I’d give it a 9/10 whereas Earthbound and Mother 3 are 10/10 for me. Excited to see what this dev cooks up next!

Absolutely adore this game! It really understands the charm of the Mother games that inspired it while still creating its own unique vibe. The story is tense and moving, but is balanced out with a charming/wacky cast and fun set pieces (seriously, the creativity of the dungeon themes amazed me over and over again). Albaness as a setting rules! I really appreciate that it doesn't pull a Pokemon and try to shove every type of biome into the world, even those not in the irl inspiration, for the sake of variety. The game manages to keep the locales feeling fresh and varied while still feeling true to Scotland (I assume. I haven't actually been there lol). The aggressive Scottishness also makes the world feel like no other game's setting. I loved every second I spent exploring! My only complaint is that the difficulty curve feels a little lopsided, as is the case in a lot of JRPGs. Early on, I felt like I was barely scraping by and constantly on the verge of running out of supplies, but by the end I'd gotten so strong that I smoked the final boss in a few turns. That said - while I didn't grind, I am the sort of player who fights every enemy he sees, so you could chalk this all up to being overleveled and/or getting better at the game. I really had such a wonderful time with the game and I really hope it gets the recognition it deserves. I for one feel super lucky that reddit served me an ad for it a day before release lol

So I only ever played the SNES Earthbound, I never experienced the first NES one or the one on Gameboy Advance that was never released in the US. This game is nothing like the SNES game. The gameplay is slow and boring. partly this is the case because the combat is so awful that I wasn't able to enjoy the story because getting to the next part was awful. Monsters take 2-4 hits to kill with the skills barely doing anything more than a base attack. Equipment seems to have little effect on doing more damage or taking less damage. If you do use the skills which can do things like heal you or stun the enemies (which does nothing on multiple enemy combats) you have to basically use a (limited) amount of healing items to increase health and spirit (mana). A fight will take 1/3 to 1/2 of your health and then you have to use 3 sandwiches that heal 12 each to get back to max. The alternate to this is your healing skill which takes 10 spirit and heals for maybe 20 but the spirit healing item only gives you back 12 so you're almost always at a net negative from fighting. Enemies will drop roughly 2/3 of a new healing item so you're always at a limited gain doing combat. The combat is best avoided at all costs. The story seems interesting but by the time I got to any significance in it I was already bored beyond belief. I asked for a refund but I'm at nearly 5 hours played when I decided to give up. I'm hoping they will still refund it. I don't know what I am missing in this game but please think twice on purchasing this.

Aye, well, the braw Scots tongue might seem a smidge imposing tae the uninitiated, but dinnie fret weans, 'cause... [i]ye cannie fling yer grannie aff a bus.[/i] [insert linguistic fist-fight between the Glaswegians, Teuchters, Hebridieans, and... *sigh* okay, fine, the Edinburgers can come play too, I guess] Despite pleas to write this entirely in Scots Gaelic and Old Scots, it was decided that having that many heads explode could, conceivably, be prejudicial to sales (and may incur a significant clean-up bill). As such, this has been largely written in *sigh* English. In truth, the tailored use of the Scots tongue in here isn't particularly dense, and so, if you use yer heed, this should be widely accessible to [i]non-natives[/i] (for the [i]natives[/i]: fàilte dhachaidh, bidh fios agad air seo gu math). Otherwise, this is a mighty cozy, homely, and funny [i]slice-of-life[/i] JRPG (man, that gate gets ye every time), and will certainly ring familiar for those of ye from these fair isles. ♭ 11/10 [Officially Certified totally objective and unbiased review. ✓]

I'm only 3 hours in so far but I am HOOKED. The game looks so gorgeous, evoking the SNES era really well. The spritework and character designs are gorgeous and the enemies are varied and often comical. The music tracks are delightfully chirpy when happy and evoke a synth horror vibe when necessary too. The genres perfectly compliment the setting of Albaness too. As a native Scot, this game feels made for me. The setting is so fun, the humour is top notch and you can really see the attention to detail that the dev has put into making the game accessible to everyone as well as having that distinctive Scottish flair. An easy recommendation to make.

Severely underbalanced. Not enough gold for healing items. The writer doesnt at all seem to understand what made Earthbound special or enjoyable, while trying desperately to imitate it. i restarted twice and kept wishing for quality of life improvements--like a speed up function. i finally quit and reclaimed my time, after chapter 1. Simply put: CAIRN is not a fun game.

Que buen juego, que gran Mother-like, en ocasiones he visto un juego espiritual muy a la imagen de Itoi, un gran mensaje el cual pide valorar más a nuestros seres queridos y como cada pequeña cosa que hacemos juntos es un regalo que si se pierde, gran parte de tu vida desaparece con ello.. Por poner pegas diré que los combates contra enemigos randoms son bastante duros y te invita a gastarte todo tú dinero en objetos para curar los puntos mágicos y de vitalidad.. cada mazmorra puede ser un dolor de huevera importante, pero luego llegas al Boss y en nada te lo ventilas. Me hubiese gustado que fuesen más exigentes pero claro, debido al camino que te tomas para llegar igual hubiese saturado bastante.. es lo contrario a cualquier RPG, paseíto matando masillas y Boss chungo, pues aquí vas listo si piensas que será igual También la duración que me ha llevado completar el juego, a mí por supuesto, de 49 horas y 30 minutos me parecen duras, se que el juego tiene 16k de líneas de diálogo y eso le pesa a favor y también en contra.. pienso que le sobran varios capítulos, no diré la cantidad por ahorrar spoilers, pero hubiese sido un juego más redondo si tuviese una duración de unas 20 horas. El propio creador asegura que son unas 30 horas de título, yo que me pierdo por cada rincón de la ciudad se me han ido a 20 más. En definitiva es un gran juego, con sus cosas, con sus virtudes también y el ser hecho por una sola persona (salvo música, testers, arte de portada..) le suma una gran calidad, porque lo bien escrito que está, sus personajes y su evolución.. y sobretodo la historia son dignas de enmarcar!! Recomendadismo a quien le guste los Mother-likes

I have had this Earth-Bound itch for a few decades that has finally been scratched.