Let’s just get this out of the way. Cairn is still my favorite game of the year. I loved it back in January when I first wrote my review. I loved it when I spent my own money to purchase a copy on PlayStation 5. I loved it when I streamed myself accomplishing a free solo run. I’ve loved nearly every single minute of the collective, like, 60 hours I’ve put into it since the demo was first released last year.
Look, there are only so many ways I can say that I adore Cairn. You can read my original review if you want, like, more depth beyond effusive praise. You should! I put a lot of time, effort, and energy into it. My mom is super proud.
And so I didn’t need a ton of convincing to jump back into the basically bare feet of Aava again. When my illustrious Editor-in-Chief of Saving Content, this very website, emailed to ask if I was interested in reviewing the upcoming free DLC–titled On the Trail: Deep Water–I was like, “Um, do I look like a total dumbass?” And he was like, “Well…” And I was like, “Just send me the fuckin’ code.”
The first thing you, dear reader, need to know about this DLC is that it is free dollars. By merely owning a copy of Cairn, you get access to an additional 3-5 hours (by the developers’ count) of exploration and challenges at no additional cost to you. Wow! It’s almost like it’s a no-brainer.
The second thing you need to know about this DLC is that it is an entirely separate experience from the base game, nestled in the main menu as its own thang. You needn’t have played the main story at all, should you be so inclined to skip the harrowing, rewarding journey up Mount Kami. I bring this up mainly because some games tuck expansions away, making accessing them sometimes prohibitively annoying. For example, should you, say, replace your Playstation 5 with a Playstation 5 Pro and forget that, because you didn’t pay for PS+, your previous saves were not automatically uploaded to the cloud, rendering them wholly irretrievable, so that when you go to experience the new region in, oh, I dunno, a sprawling fantasy action RPG you’ve played through twice before (not to name names, but it hypothetically rhymes with Wagon’s Wogma 2), you’re on the hook for at least a dozen hours or so before you can even begin to dig into the meat and potatoes of all the new stuff, by which point you might completely burn out before reaching the endgame. WHO’S TO SAY!!!
The third thing you need to know about this DLC is that is good. And it is challenging. And it is good because it is challenging. It feels like The Game Bakers wanted to cater to the folks who were continually coming back to the main adventure and trying new, more technical routes. Routes with lots of flat faces. Routes with lots of overhangs. Routes that are possible to accomplish with or without the use of pitons, regardless if traversing them sans piton might result in repeated, frustrating falls, even in instances where you’re absolutely sure Aava was well-positioned and couldn’t possibly slip from such sturdy footing. Alas!
Yes, I am back on my bullshit and decided to play through the DLC without the use of pitons. And that, on top of the additional tweaks to the core gameplay experience, made for a difficult-yet-mostly-not-completely-frustrating foray back into Cairn’s exquisite simulation of rock climbing.
There are three new areas to clamber about, and because they’re much smaller than what you typically experience on Kami, The Game Bakers made adjustments to the survival mechanics to encourage thoughtful utilization of your equipment and food. Now, instead of having hunger and thirst and temperature and health meters, you have a single energy meter that depletes more quickly depending on how much you climb like a dipshit. Throw yourself on the wall haphazardly, with little regard for good climbing form, and you’ll find the energy bar drains and drains and drains until you’re met with a screen that tells you: OH NO YOU’RE TOO SLEEPY YOU GOTTA START OVER. This tweak creates an additional sense of urgency not often present in the base game, as you now have a clearer visual representation of when you fuck up your foot placement, and the problems placed before you don’t have as many options to course correct. I didn’t love it at first, but once I locked back into how Cairn wanted me to approach climbing in its world, it became less of an issue.
Luckily, there are options to mitigate energy loss. After you select the area you want to explore, you’re given the opportunity to pack your bag with resources to help you with your climb and recover lost energy. The trade-off being that the game deliberately limits you to just a few items, so you have to be thoughtful about what you bring with you. Careful exploration and plundering of the environment will yield additional materials, but you’ll start to learn pretty quickly what type of items will be most beneficial to kick off your runs.
Yes, I am back on my bullshit and decided to play through the DLC without the use of pitons.
Would I have appreciated a way to disable this energy drain altogether so I could’ve just explored freely? Sure. Was it a huge issue once I got back into the groove of playing? Not really. My recommendation: be patient. Give yourself some grace. Focus on thoughtful limb placement. Or don’t and go loudly complain on the internet about it or something, I dunno, I’m not your mom. But if I was I would be disappointed in you for choosing to engage in such tacky, antisocial behavior.
Another interesting twist is that you can now play as either Aava or Marco! Aava being the taller, nimbler of the two, whereas Marco makes up for it in his arm strength, a newer robot companion model, and also he wears shoes. The differences between the two characters is surprisingly meaningful, and while I still prefer Aava for her mobility, it’s fun to see the same problems from different perspectives.
The dev team have said that alongside the DLC release there will be an update that adds free roam to the original game, as well as the ability to play as either Aava or Marco there, too. This did not appear to be present in the build I had access to. That, or I am, in fact, a huge dumbass. Regardless, I didn’t get a chance to try it out.
Anyway, it took me just under two and half hours to explore a good chunk of the three new locations on offer and get a nice tease about what’s coming next for the game (which I won’t spoil here, mostly because I have no goddamned idea what it is). That being said, there are still plenty of routes to try and secrets to uncover. Not a bad way to spend zero dollars! I’m excited to get back out there and see what I can find.
