Cairn creative director explains that the upcoming On the Trail DLC provides 'more variety in the climbing fantasy' — I went hands-on to find out more

Playing the upcoming Cairn: On the Trail DLC with one of its creators looking over my shoulder was incredibly humbling.

It had been months since I’d completed my gruelling ascent of Mt.

Kami, and my skills were more than a little rusty.

When Aava slipped and plummeted into the sea for the fifth time in less than 20 minutes, I was worried they’d lean over, close the laptop, and walk away shaking their head in disgust.

Luckily, I was allowed to play on, and slowly but surely I (quite literally) found my feet, more confidently and successfully finding the handholds and footholds to make progress on one of the three new challenges found in this first piece of free DLC for the excellent climbing adventure.

The one I was currently dramatically failing at features a piton-shaped rock in the middle of the ocean.

You start on a wooden path surrounding this peculiar natural structure, before falling into a familiar pattern where you’re scoping out the potential routes to find a good place to climb it.

It’s immediately clear, though, that these DLC environments are even more experimental than what we saw in the main game.

Rising up “ On the Trail is pretty much built on ideas and desires we had but decided not to put on Kami for the sake of consistency,” explains Emeric Thoa, creative director of Cairn .

“Because Kami is a very coherent experience, as you climb a single immense mountain, we wanted the On the Trail DLC to explore more variety in the climbing fantasy.” (Image credit: The Game Bakers) That breaks down as follows.

This first is the level I’m playing now, with its tough climb up a unique structure.

There’s also one set in a climbing gym full of more technically demanding challenges and one on a small island featuring various perilous overhangs over the sea.

You can also now play as Marco, who is less flexible than Aava, but he has a longer reach, stronger arms, and a new climbot model.

Whoever you pick, none of the new stages sound very easy, even for veterans who have successfully reached the top of Kami.