You can now play the demo for the heavy-breathing open-world mountaineer Cairn

So You Fell Off a Mountain strikes me as a brilliant book to write and then buy at any mountainside gift shop across the country, just for the idea of ​​a falling mountaineer quickly skimming the pages as they go comical fall to ruin, searching for the one piece of sage advice that could ease their predicament. If you’re personally reading RPS while falling off a mountain, I’m afraid I can’t help you. Luckily, if you rack your brains on your way down to Steam, you’ll find a demo for the stylish open-world climbing game Cairn that should hopefully distract you from your impending pancaking.

Cairn is from The Game Bakers, known for Furi and Haven. We first saw it at Day Of The Devs this year. At that time I was fresh from the beautiful Jusant. “Ah, another relaxing and whimsical French game about mountaineering!” I thought. I was an idiot. It’s much more intense this one, although there are splashes of Breath Of The Wild and Death Stranding to add some whimsy and wonder to your Sisyphean battle. Besides, it’s very pretty. Here’s new footage, possibly old footage too, depending on how much the embargo has disrupted my schedule.

I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: Look how strange these legs are! Look how pliable and clumsy they bend. For me, this is the sure sign of a considered and reactive simulation. No graceful, contextual, restrictive animations for Cairn. No, Sirree! You’ll also carefully balance your supplies and use grapples as quick checkpoints as you ascend. As you climb, you’ll think about things like posture, effort, and balance. “Every wall feels like a boss fight,” says Steam. Do…the mountains do that weird FromSoft thing? I would like that.

The demo bills itself as the first hour of the game and promises that you’ll have access to all features, including “the freedom to climb anywhere.” This is obviously a lie from the start, because “somewhere” certainly includes the second hour of the game. However, to be honest, I’m so happy that there are more mountains to climb after Jusant that I don’t mind. If you like the demo, you won’t have to wait long for Cairn’s full release either – it’s out next month.