Furi and Haven developer The Game Bakers has always been hard to pin down, and the reveal of "survival-climber" Cairn , a game about climbing a mountain using rationed supplies and realistic animations and physics, has only made that harder. It's the third game in a loosely defined trilogy with the theme of freedom, and it looks unlike any survival game I've played. In an interview with GamesRadar+, executive producer and designer Audrey Leprince, along with creative content director and designer Emeric Thoa, walk me through the origins of what seems like an improbable game for the studio.
Well, I say that, but thanks to Jusant, this somehow won't be the first modern mountain climbing-focused game from a French developer. (Thoa says they were already years into Cairn's development when Jusant was announced.) Furi had a clear rhythm to its frenetic combat and Haven almost feels like an actual rhythm game at times, but Cairn "is something different.
" It shares some DNA with meme-y physics games like Octodad, only it's been taken a step further, and then another step further, and then so far that it eventually becomes grounded in a proper, polished control scheme. The idea is to sell the feel of every carefully outreached arm, shaky leg, and desperate search for grip as you ascend. Physical strain is a core mechanic, and there's also a mental component in the form of climbing supplies – ropes and anchors and so on which must be placed with care and forethought.
"You control yo.