- Soundtrack Release and Happy New Year! - 5 January 2026
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 TideAwnie IslandBrae Croft Mother's SongBargain HuntingReturning to Awnie Island
- 1.01 Hotfix #1 - 27 October 2025
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
- Update 1.01 is LIVE! - 24 October 2025
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 menuAnother 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 memb…
- Hotfix #10 Pre-Update 1 - 19 October 2025
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
- Hotfix #9 - 14 October 2025
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
- Hotfix #8 - 13 October 2025
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
- Hotfix #7 - 12 October 2025
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
- Hotfix #6 - 12 October 2025
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
- Hotfix #5 - 11 October 2025
A few more smaller bugs while I work on the larger update :)Fixed an incorrect music track playing during the intro of Chapter 8Added in a guy to provide players with items etc when provided with a codeAdded LIFE/SPIRIT recovery when the character goes to bed at the end of the day in Chapter 2Fixed a bug where saying No to going to bed softlocks the game in Chapter 2Fixed an issue where a team member joining the party would play an incorrect sound effectFixed an issue where the cat refused to take his given name (Cats amiright?)
- Hotfix #4 - 11 October 2025
Fixed an issue where the player might repeat a scene and get stuck in Chapter 7
- Thank you for playing Cairn: Mathair's Curse! - 11 October 2025
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 FixesI 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!
- Hotfix #3 Solved a Beetle Bug - 11 October 2025
Fixed one of Farmer Sandy's beetles causing a repeating battle/animation
- Hotfix #2 - 10 October 2025
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.
- Hotfix #1 - 10 October 2025
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
- Cairn: Mathair's Curse is OUT NOW! - 9 October 2025
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 only enjoy the adventure across Albaness, but resonate in the emotional moments across the game. And wack some enemies!If you give it a go soon, please consider leaving a review for Cairn: Mathair's Curse! As my first commerial game, and for a solo dev - every review makes a massive impact within the Steam ecosystem!
- Cairn: Mathair's Curse launches October 9th 2025! - 9 September 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 became my life for a long time. I hope anyone who plays it will connect with the passion and nostalgia that has gone into it. And, of course, there are plenty of funny characters and silly monsters to fight!Here a wee teaser trailer to celebrate the announcement!
- Combat Updates in 2025! - 1 September 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 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!)
- Cairn: Mathair's Curse is taking part in TurnBasedCarnival by acramdigital! - 13 November 2024
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! https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Acram/sale/Turn-BasedCarnival2024
- October 2024 Update! - 1 October 2024
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’ve played the demo, the demo is about half of chapter 1. Not all the chapters are quite as hefty as chapter 1, but it gives an idea of what to expect for the full game! My testers have been testing the rest of the game bar the chapter I am working on. After I finish developing this chapter, I will be doing the bug fixing and tweaks from the testing and implementing music that has been written for the game. My partner has been writing new music for the whole game. So far, she has written over 80 tracks for the game and still more to go! It’s very exciting to see everything coming together after these years of dev…
- A Developer and Development Update - 10 September 2024
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 important to me that the game is complete and as polished as possible when it's released. Thanks to everyone who is excited and has left encouraging words over the past few months and years, it means a lot! I'll be able to set a new release date once I'm fully recovered and back in full swing.
