Cairn: Mathair's Curse Preview - An Earthbound Inspired JRPG With A Deep Story
Updated: Jun 16
The most unique and special JRPG experience I’ve ever had was with the cult-classic SNES game Earthbound. Set in a typical American suburb the game saw the player exploring a weird and ridiculous world with colorful characters, hilarious humor, and incredible music. Since then I’ve longed for a game to hit similar notes and deliver on the same vibe that Earthbound had to offer. Though plenty of games have taken inspiration from the classic title, not many have captured my attention. That is, until I played the demo for the new indie game from single-developer Ross Ritchie, Cairn: Mathair’s Curse.
I first saw this game at the Best Indie Games Showcase 2024. It was just one of over 160 games being showcased but it stuck out in particular due to its striking art style which emulated Earthbound and especially its sequel, Mother 3. When I saw there was a demo available, I knew I had to give it a try. After playing for about an hour and a half it became clear that not only was this game heavily inspired by the Mother series, but it also had its own unique identity separated from its inspiration that may serve it well as a full title.
In Cairn: Mathair’s Curse, you take the role of Alex, a young boy who has strange and terrifying dreams that haunt and confuse him. You have all of your standard pixel-based JRPG tropes here such as turn-based combat, a simple equipment system, and standard stats. You can dash around the map, talk to NPCs, check your quest log to track progress, and a soundtrack that ranges from fuzzy background tunes to deep groovy vibes. Cairn’s differentiator is in what I call the “fluff”.
“Fluff” is all of the extra things in a game that flesh it out and color the world around you. In Cairn, you are able to interact with much more of the environment than in normal JRPGs which quite often will net you hilarious text boxes that set the tone and add personality to the world. Early in the demo you end up on a beach where your sister has dug up multiple holes looking for a legendary lost city. There are tons of these holes in the sand and every single one of them gives unique dialogue that finds a different way to describe what is ultimately “a hole in the sand.”
Tiny moments like that add a lot of flavor to what could be literally just “holes in the sand.” Rather than being part of the environment, Cairn elects to give this little section a personality. These kinds of moments are everywhere in Cairn which makes it rewarding and worthwhile to check almost everything around.
Combat is about what you’d expect from a typical turn-based JRPG. Unfortunately, one of the most unique aspects of Earthbound’s combat, the rolling health bar, in which your HP literally rolls down in real time meaning you have a chance to survive even lethal hits if you can use an item in time, didn’t quite make the cut. What was included are these funky backgrounds during each battle sequence that are ripped straight out of the classic SNES RPG and adds a unique groove to combat not found in other titles. The enemies you face are some of the weirdest in gaming. During my time with the demo I tussled with a stop sign, a wooden gate, a weird worm, a ball with an angry face, a beetle, and an entire furniture set. Cairn is clearly leaning into the bizarre which is to its benefit.
Overlooking the odd nature of Cairn is a story that promises to be a heart-string tugger. The demo itself spends a majority of its run time setting up the world, its various characters, Alex’s struggles with his dreams, and raising a mystery on what darkness is about to fall upon this world. The emphasis on the relationship between Alex and his mother evokes similar themes of Mother 3’s story about family relationships and the connection between mother and child.
Cairn is doing a lot right. It is replicating much of what made the Mother franchise special while also telling its own unique story that players in the modern age can connect to. With unique enemy designs, hilarious dialogue, and a unique style, Cairn is looking to potentially fill an Earthbound shaped hole in player’s hearts who yearn for a title that can recreate the magic of those classic titles.
Cairn: Mathair’s Curse is set to release sometime in Q3 2024.
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