After spending hours with Cairn’s demo—and watching my climber Aava plummet to her death more times than I’d care to admit—I’ve figured out what actually works. This isn’t your typical climbing game. The Game Bakers (creators of Furi and Haven) have built something that genuinely makes your palms sweat. Here’s everything you need to know to conquer Mount Kami.

Table of Contents

Quick Answer

The essential Cairn beginner tips:

  • Controls: Left stick moves limbs, one button to grab—simple inputs, deep simulation
  • Stamina: Find stable holds to rest; don’t rush vertical sections
  • Pitons: Place them every 10-15 meters as checkpoints; hang from them to fully recover
  • Bivouac: Set up camp to cook food, rest, and repair gear
  • Route planning: Study the wall from the ground before climbing

Understanding Cairn’s Climbing Controls

Cairn’s climbing system controls each of Aava’s limbs individually, but The Game Bakers made the inputs surprisingly intuitive. You use the left stick to select which hand or foot to move, then press a single button to grab onto holds.

The magic is in the simulation underneath. Your posture, balance, and effort all matter. If you’re stretched too far between holds, Aava’s arms will shake. Overextend, and you’ll see her knees tremble before she loses grip entirely.

Key control principles:

  • Move one limb at a time—trying to rush creates instability
  • Keep your center of gravity over your holds
  • Use foot placement to take weight off your arms
  • Watch for visual cues—shaking limbs mean you’re pushing too hard

Stamina Management: The Core Survival Mechanic

Stamina determines everything in Cairn. Unlike games where you can spam climb infinitely, every reach and pull here costs energy. Run out mid-wall, and you’re falling.

How to manage stamina effectively:

  • Find rest positions: Look for ledges or stable three-point holds where you can recover
  • Use chalk: Improves grip, reducing the stamina cost of holds
  • Hang from pitons: Going “off belay” by attaching to a piton restores your full stamina bar
  • Don’t fight gravity: Downclimbing or traversing can be less stamina-intensive than going straight up

When Aava glows briefly after going still, that’s your stamina recovering. Get familiar with this rhythm—climb, rest, climb, rest.

Pitons: Your Lifeline on Mount Kami

Pitons are metal spikes you hammer into the rock to create anchor points. They serve two critical functions: checkpoints that save you from falling all the way down, and recovery stations where you can fully restore stamina.

Piton strategy:

  • Place them regularly: Every 10-15 meters of vertical progress, or before difficult sections
  • Conserve them: Pitons are limited resources—you can’t spam them everywhere
  • Retrieve when possible: Some pitons can be pulled and reused
  • Watch for breakage: There’s a rhythm-based mechanic when placing pitons; miss it and they may break

A well-placed piton before a challenging overhang can mean the difference between progress and a catastrophic fall back to your last safe point.

Setting Up Bivouacs: Your Mountain Camps

Bivouacs are small camping setups where Aava can rest, cook, and prepare for the climb ahead. These aren’t just flavor—they’re essential for long-term survival on Mount Kami.

What you can do at a bivouac:

  • Cook food: Eating restores health and provides buffs (yes, you can cook cup noodles)
  • Drink water: Hydration affects your stamina regeneration
  • Rest: Recover from exhaustion and prepare for the next push
  • Repair gear: Fix damaged equipment, including pitons

You can set up bivouacs in most flat areas on the mountain. Look for natural shelves and ledges. The cozy moments cooking a meal while overlooking the valley below? That’s the calm before the next storm.

Resource Management: What to Carry

Your backpack holds everything you need to survive, but weight matters. Here’s what you’re managing:

Critical supplies:

  • Pitons: Your primary safety equipment—never run out
  • Chalk: Improves grip and reduces stamina drain
  • Finger tape: Protects your hands and helps with grip endurance
  • Food and water: Keeps you alive and functional
  • Medicine: Treats injuries from falls or cold

You can forage for some resources while exploring the mountain—the demo showed natural nooks and crannies hiding supplies. Don’t pass up opportunities to restock.

Reading the Rock Face: Route Planning

Here’s what separates struggling climbers from successful ones: planning your route before you start climbing. Cairn lets you climb almost anywhere, but that freedom means you can easily get stuck in dead ends.

Before starting a wall:

  • Step back and look at the entire section from the ground
  • Identify the holds and ledges—they’re visible from distance
  • Plan a path with rest points built in
  • Look for alternative routes if your main line looks too demanding

The developers described each wall as feeling like a “boss fight.” That comparison is apt—you wouldn’t rush into a boss arena without observing attack patterns first.

Learning From Falls: Failure Is Progress

You will fall in Cairn. A lot. The key insight is that falling isn’t just failure—it’s feedback.

Each fall teaches you something:

  • Where you placed your piton too late (or not at all)
  • Which section drained too much stamina
  • What alternative hold you could have used
  • Where you should have rested instead of pushing

This loops back to the “boss fight” design philosophy. Like any challenging game, Cairn wants you to learn its systems through experience. The satisfaction of finally summiting after multiple attempts? That’s the payoff.

Pro Tips From Experienced Climbers

  • Don’t look down: Focus on the next hold, not how far you could fall
  • Use your legs: Real climbers know legs are stronger than arms—same applies here
  • Save before hard sections: Place a piton even if you think you don’t need one
  • Explore off the main path: Resources and easier routes hide in unexpected places
  • Watch Aava’s body language: Shaking, heavy breathing, and posture all signal your state
  • Master mantling early: Pulling yourself up onto ledges is harder than it looks—practice in the gym
  • Adjust difficulty if needed: Cairn includes accessibility options to customize the challenge

Frequently Asked Questions

What platforms is Cairn available on?

Cairn releases on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store) and PlayStation 5 on January 29, 2026. There’s a free demo available on both platforms so you can try before you buy.

Is Cairn like Getting Over It or QWOP?

While it shares the “control individual limbs” DNA, Cairn is more comparable to Jusant. It’s a realistic simulation rather than a frustration-focused challenge game. The controls are intentionally accessible—simple inputs, deep gameplay.

How long does Cairn take to complete?

The full game’s length hasn’t been confirmed, but the demo offered about an hour of content with significant replayability. Expect a substantial campaign given The Game Bakers’ track record with Furi and Haven.

Can I play Cairn with a keyboard and mouse?

A controller is strongly recommended. The analog stick input for limb placement feels much more natural than keyboard controls for this type of game.

Who is Aava and what’s the story?

Aava is a professional mountaineer attempting to become the first person to summit Mount Kami—a legendary peak that’s never been conquered. The game explores what she’s willing to sacrifice for this dream, with unexpected companions and stories unfolding during the ascent.

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Summary

Cairn isn’t trying to frustrate you—it’s trying to simulate the authentic tension and triumph of real climbing. Master the simple controls, respect your stamina limits, place pitons strategically, and plan your routes from the ground. Most importantly, learn from every fall. The summit of Mount Kami is waiting for climbers patient enough to earn it.