Survival climber Cairn is getting a free-solo mode, letting you channel your inner Alex Honnold when it launches in November
I've been continually impressed by Cairn ever since it was announced in June last year. The survivalist climber features one of the best climbing simulations I've experienced yet. If that seems like a bold claim for a game that isn't out for another few months, don't take my word for it, you can also try it yourself, since there's a Steam demo available.
Cairn aims for its manual mountain ascents to be as realistic as possible. But there are a few more fantastical elements switched on by default. Normally, you're accompanied by a robotic climbing spider who belays you in lieu of an actual climbing partner. But developer The Game Bakers has just revealed that you'll also be able to climb without your arachnid pal, and instead clamber up its gigantic walls alone in free solo mode.
"True to its name, Free Solo mode puts players on the wall with no pitons and no rope", The Game Bakers explained in a press release. Playing on Free Solo will see your backpack stripped down to the barest of essentials, like food to keep your energy levels up on your long climb. Beyond that, though, you'll be reliant exclusively on your climbing skills to make it to the summit alive. "The mode is meant for players who want to test themselves and experience the razor edge tension that real free solo climbers live on the wall," the developers add.
I inadvertently ended up free-soloing in another climbing game this year, the nineteenth-century themed scale-'em-up Peaks of Yore. Suddenly finding myself ropeless while clinging to the side of a lighthouse remains one of my most memorable experiences playing games from 2025, and the rubbery-armed adventurers of Peaks of Yore don't exactly make for the most authentic climbing experience. Hence, I can wholly believe that free-soloing in Cairn will be very tense indeed.
The Game Bakers also debuted their first single from the Cairn soundtrack, which is called Only the Mountain by The Toxic Avenger. The French DJ is one of three composers collaborating on the soundtrack, the other two being Danish musician Martin Stig Anderson and Gildaa. I have no idea who any of these people are because I am nearly 40 and stopped listening to new music in 2009, but Andersen apparently worked on games like Limbo, Inside and Control, while Toxic's music has featured in several Ubisoft games including The Crew and Rainbow Six: Siege.
Anyway, you can listen to Only The Mountain on multiple streaming platforms. Cairn launches the 5th of November (so remember remember) and if it proves anything less than great I shall eat Mount Everest.