Cairn: Mathair's Curse

Released: Oct 9, 2025
Platforms
Last updated: 15 Sep 2026, 17:45 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

05 Jan 2026Developer post
Soundtrack Release and Happy New Year!
Hope everyone had a wonderful time over the festive period! Here's a photo from the group's shinanigans over the holidays: Soundtrack release! Really happy to say the full soundtrack is now uploaded to Youtube! Thank you to my partner for putting it all together to enjoy in one g
Hope everyone had a wonderful time over the festive period! Here's a photo from the group's shinanigans over the holidays:
Soundtrack release!
Really happy to say the full soundtrack is now uploaded to Youtube! Thank you to my partner for putting it all together to enjoy in one go :)
If you would like high quality formats of the soundtrack, it is available currently on Bandcamp, and will be available via Steam soon (awaiting Steam approval!)
Please note some tracks have been updated since the game release - this is due to file loss unfortunately, and the tracks re-created. These are the following:
Low Tide
Awnie Island
Brae Croft
Mother's Song
Bargain Hunting
Returning to Awnie Island
Watch on YouTube
Original post
27 Oct 2025Developer post
1.01 Hotfix #1
Some wee changes and fixes post the 1.01 update :) Fixed vile video game reseller selling collectables that don't count towards collection (he was doubly vile) Fixed soldier incorrectly chucking you out in chapter 10 Chapter 2's special ant types will now use their stronger abili
Some wee changes and fixes post the 1.01 update :)

Fixed vile video game reseller selling collectables that don't count towards collection (he was doubly vile)
Fixed soldier incorrectly chucking you out in chapter 10
Chapter 2's special ant types will now use their stronger abilities once you have access to a trader
Chapter 2's special ant types have swapped damage values
Shop signs now direct you to the trader in Chapter 2
Added a Great Thistle near the cemetery in Late Chapter 1
Original post
24 Oct 2025Developer post
Update 1.01 is LIVE!
I've been very busy the last couple of weeks since release! Feature updates: Look out for the great thistles - these plants will provide your party with a free recovery! The first piece of feedback I've focused on for this update was providing some kind of rest point/relief for p
I've been very busy the last couple of weeks since release!
Feature updates:
Look out for the great thistles - these plants will provide your party with a free recovery!
The first piece of feedback I've focused on for this update was providing some kind of rest point/relief for players. Particularly in the early chapters where items can be most scarce. With this update you can now find scattered throughout Albaness a mysterious flower which when touched provides a one time full recovery for your party. This means you should chew through your items just a little less quickly.
A combat speed modifier has been added to the main menu
Another request was to add the ability to alter the speed of combat. To which you can now find battle animation speed settings within the options. (1 being default and 4 being the fastest). Currently the speed does not affect some animations, particularly party members who use skills with timed attacks. I'll include these in a following patch :)
Difficulty Changes!
Tweaked the difficulty of enemies in the early game (a little less intimidating)
Tweaked some late game bosses (a little more intimidating)
Some players were finding the early stages of the game a little tough or the later stages of the game (particularly the bosses) a little easy. These have now been tweaked and alongside the Great Thistles in the early game should help the difficulty curve across the game.
(Vile) Video Game Re-Seller!
Did you miss a collectable? Did you miss the chance to find that one time only video game? Never fear, for a nice chap who will sell you them for an extravagant price is here! Ok, maybe he's not sooo nice, but he will help you obtain those video games you missed the first time around. (Be careful though, it'll get expensive if you missed a bunch!)
Now for some smaller but nonetheless important updates and fixes!
Minor Updates:
Renamed for a similarly named character to Jim to not get mixed up
Some XP re-balance
Reworked some cave areas to not get lost! (and more spacious la-di-da)
Some item descriptions are more descriptive
Fixes:
Fixed an issue where enemies caused a softlock when fleeing
Fixed a bug with the VR sprite disappeared for normal Alex
Fixed a bug causing players to get stuck in a crypt in chapter 11
Fixed a SFX error when Hamish gives you an item
Fixed a couple of enemies with missing battle backgrounds
Correct some skill descriptions
Fixed some sprite errors in chapter 11
Fixed an issue with Peddler Pete not letting you leave a shop
Original post
19 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #10 Pre-Update 1
A few issues before the first update: Fixed a bug causing players to become stuck when returning to Eilidh's room in Chapter 4 in the second half of the chapter Fixed an issue with some character sprites Fixed a bug causing incorrect pickup audio to play in Chapter 2 Corrected a
A few issues before the first update:

Fixed a bug causing players to become stuck when returning to Eilidh's room in Chapter 4 in the second half of the chapter
Fixed an issue with some character sprites
Fixed a bug causing incorrect pickup audio to play in Chapter 2
Corrected a calculation dealing with average player levels
Original post
14 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #9
Larger fix list for later Chapters Present incorrectly attempts to send you to a unassociated cave entrance Offset camera after encounter in Ch13 Sound effect volume reduction on enemy attack effect Alterations to some NPC dialogue Correction to a few weapon descriptions Percival
Larger fix list for later Chapters

Present incorrectly attempts to send you to a unassociated cave entrance
Offset camera after encounter in Ch13
Sound effect volume reduction on enemy attack effect
Alterations to some NPC dialogue
Correction to a few weapon descriptions
Percival Refers to character as incorrect name in a couple spots
Fixed scrolling background to lift in Ch13
Altered Enemy health and weaknesses Ch13
Various grammar/spelling corrections
Altered skill costs for Graham
Fixed an enemy being vulnerable to the venom state
Original post
13 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #8
I'm still working on a bigger patch but here's a few small fixes :) Small Day 2 dialogue changes Corrected a delay on some enemy encounter animations in Chapter 1 Fixed an issue where the dog would leave the party after battling beetles (Dog became more scared of beetles than sup
I'm still working on a bigger patch but here's a few small fixes :)

Small Day 2 dialogue changes
Corrected a delay on some enemy encounter animations in Chapter 1
Fixed an issue where the dog would leave the party after battling beetles (Dog became more scared of beetles than superheroes)
Added shortcut option home on retrieving the medicine
Original post
12 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #7
Altered Robo Enemy abilities to prevent skill spam LIFE and SPIRIT have increased regen from Defend ability Encyclopedia spelling corrections Excluded accessories from menu Quick Equip Fixed a sprite overlap issue in Chapter 5 Corrected some signage in Chapter 5 Fixed an issue wh
Altered Robo Enemy abilities to prevent skill spam
LIFE and SPIRIT have increased regen from Defend ability
Encyclopedia spelling corrections
Excluded accessories from menu Quick Equip
Fixed a sprite overlap issue in Chapter 5
Corrected some signage in Chapter 5
Fixed an issue where a quest was completing too early in Chapter 5
Fixed an issue where an enemy wouldn't pull from their full music track list in Chapter 5
Small item usage corrections in menus
Fixed a problem where sending an incorrect item in Chapter 10 would prevent progress
Original post
12 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #6
Fixed a music change in chapter 12 Fixed a music change in chapter 13 Fixed a bug with duplicate character in chapter 8 Added a consumable item to a Chapter 11 seller Fixed Sprite Error in Chapter 12
Fixed a music change in chapter 12
Fixed a music change in chapter 13
Fixed a bug with duplicate character in chapter 8
Added a consumable item to a Chapter 11 seller
Fixed Sprite Error in Chapter 12
Original post
11 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #5
A few more smaller bugs while I work on the larger update :) Fixed an incorrect music track playing during the intro of Chapter 8 Added in a guy to provide players with items etc when provided with a code Added LIFE/SPIRIT recovery when the character goes to bed at the end of the
A few more smaller bugs while I work on the larger update :)
Fixed an incorrect music track playing during the intro of Chapter 8
Added in a guy to provide players with items etc when provided with a code
Added LIFE/SPIRIT recovery when the character goes to bed at the end of the day in Chapter 2
Fixed a bug where saying No to going to bed softlocks the game in Chapter 2
Fixed an issue where a team member joining the party would play an incorrect sound effect
Fixed an issue where the cat refused to take his given name (Cats amiright?)
Original post
11 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #4
Fixed an issue where the player might repeat a scene and get stuck in Chapter 7
Fixed an issue where the player might repeat a scene and get stuck in Chapter 7
Original post
11 Oct 2025Developer post
Thank you for playing Cairn: Mathair's Curse!
Thank you for Playing! Really blown away by the response to Cairn: Mathair's Curse! I'm very glad people are enjoying the game so far. Thank you so much also to everyone who has left a review, many of them are very thoughtful and insightful! If you're playing the game, please do
Thank you for Playing!
Really blown away by the response to Cairn: Mathair's Curse! I'm very glad people are enjoying the game so far.
Thank you so much also to everyone who has left a review, many of them are very thoughtful and insightful! If you're playing the game, please do consider leaving a review of your experience!
Recent and Ongoing Fixes
I also wanted to note on the following issues either fixed or currently being worked on:
Steam Deck and Linux players ran into a compatibility issue earlier today. That’s now fixed, and should be running smoothly again!
A known issue with enemies running away causing a softlock - I'm currently implementing and testing a fix for this, and it will be the next game update! Apologies to players who have experienced this issue.
There has been a few quick hot-fixes to fix minor bugs!
Original post
11 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #3 Solved a Beetle Bug
Fixed one of Farmer Sandy's beetles causing a repeating battle/animation
Fixed one of Farmer Sandy's beetles causing a repeating battle/animation
Original post
10 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #2
Another wee update to fix the following issues: Fixed an issue with a stop sign stopping the player (A bit too much) Fixed an issue where a cat's agility goes down after a certain level (It gets lazy) Added a vendor in the Chapter 1 woods after a big event.
Another wee update to fix the following issues:

Fixed an issue with a stop sign stopping the player (A bit too much)
Fixed an issue where a cat's agility goes down after a certain level (It gets lazy)
Added a vendor in the Chapter 1 woods after a big event.
Original post
10 Oct 2025Developer post
Hotfix #1
Just a wee update to fix the following issues: Fixed an issue where beetles will disappear before being fought in Chapter 1 Fixed a problem with entering a door in Chapter 2 Altered the credits section Another small hotfix is due shortly as well for some additional bugs
Just a wee update to fix the following issues:

Fixed an issue where beetles will disappear before being fought in Chapter 1
Fixed a problem with entering a door in Chapter 2
Altered the credits section
Another small hotfix is due shortly as well for some additional bugs
Original post
09 Oct 2025Developer post
Cairn: Mathair's Curse is OUT NOW!
After 5 years of development, I'm excited that Cairn: Mathair's Curse is finally released into the world! Thank you to everyone who is interested, wishlists or plan to purchase the game! It's a real passion project, both to classic JRPGs and in its personal story. I hope you not
09 Sep 2025Developer post
Cairn: Mathair's Curse launches October 9th 2025!
After 5 years of development, I’m very excited to announce that Cairn: Mathair's Curse will launch on Steam on October 9, 2025 ! It’s been a very personal project, and I’m excited and a little terrified to be sharing it with the world soon. What started as a side project really b
01 Sep 2025Developer post
Combat Updates in 2025!
It’s been a busy year for Cairn: Mathair's Curse! Earlier this year I finished the game from beginning to end - but development hasn’t slowed down. One of the biggest changes this year has been a complete overhaul of combat, loot, and character progression! Each main party member
It’s been a busy year for Cairn: Mathair's Curse!
Earlier this year I finished the game from beginning to end - but development hasn’t slowed down. One of the biggest changes this year has been a complete overhaul of combat, loot, and character progression!
Each main party member now has two distinct “flavours” of abilities, and the items you discover throughout Albaness are tailored to those playstyles.
For example. Graham, the main spellcaster has two sets of weapon choices:
Literature (novels, stories, etc.) powers up his strongest spiritual attacks - fireballs to incinerate foes, waves to sweep them away.
Ancient texts (stone tablets, carvings, etc.) boost his physical attacks while weakening his spells. But the trade-off? Smacking enemies with stone slabs restores precious spirit energy!
Wacking enemies is always a good last resort in any case... (Nice wee animations added too!)
Original post
13 Nov 2024Developer post
Cairn: Mathair's Curse is taking part in TurnBasedCarnival by acramdigital!
I am excited to share we are part of the Turn-Based Carnival by acramdigital, showcasing loads of great turn-based games! Check out the link below to the Steam event page live from 13th November - 20th November for all the amazing games turn-based games!
01 Oct 2024Developer post
October 2024 Update!
I’m back! I recently took a needed break, but now I’m back working full time on Cairn: Mathair’s Curse, and I’d like to share what’s happening now with development. I’m working on the last incomplete chapter of the game. To give an idea, there are 14 chapters in the game. If you’
10 Sep 2024Developer post
A Developer and Development Update
I'd like to share an update on the release of Cairn: Mathair's Curse. Recently, I've had some health issues meaning I've been unable to work on the game, as I needed a break to recover. Thankfully, I'm getting better but I've decided to delay the game's release. It's really impor

Updates & announcements

Soundtrack release!

I've been very busy the last couple of weeks since release!

Feature updates:

Thank you for Playing!

Recent and Ongoing Fixes