Climbing is all the fad lately. Scaling seemingly insurmountable heights has been a core intuition of avid gamers in all places for years, whether or not intentional within the likes of Murderer’s Creed, Develop House, and Jusant, or the freeform hill-hopping of Skyrim. In 2025, Peak reworked the exercise right into a ridiculous co-operative journey. Now, new indie sport Cairn takes issues in a moderately totally different route, choosing a way more private, atmospheric, and contemplative method to its mountainous challenges, and it is already proving a giant winner.
Cairn comes from French studio The Recreation Bakers, recognized greatest for sci-fi slasher Furi and romantic area journey Haven. Its newest outing places you within the sneakers of professional climber Aava, a reclusive kind who’s made it her mission to be the primary individual to succeed in the summit of the infamous Mount Kami. It adopts a simulation-style method that jogs my memory of the magnificent Develop House the place you progress limbs manually, one after the other, making certain you retain a superb maintain and preserve your stability as you ascend.
This method helps you to take a totally freeform route upwards within the vein of Breath of the Wild, however very like Hyperlink you will have to decide on your path rigorously if you wish to really get wherever. By default, Aava will routinely choose the most effective limb to maneuver subsequent primarily based on her present stability and grip, however should you actually need to take a look at your self there’s the choice to take full handbook management over this as effectively. I would suggest steering clear right here except you are already an skilled, nonetheless, as a improper transfer can rapidly see you plummeting.
The Recreation Bakers says it desires every wall to really feel “like a boss combat,” though it does supply customizable problem choices should you’re discovering issues a bit overwhelming. You will have to hold observe of sources like meals, water, medication, pitons, chalk, and finger tape to rigorously think about what you are able to. Pitons are notably necessary, as a result of they act as a restricted inventory of checkpoints that may be positioned to maintain you secure in case of a fall. You may also dangle from them to let your limbs get well a bit of.
There are definitely some components that may enchantment to those who loved the methodical meandering of Child Steps, and even the likes of Dying Stranding. Cairn additionally leans into Aava’s character very intentionally; she’s self-motivated and relentless, liable to bursts of emotion and keen to push herself additional than she in all probability ought to at occasions. That is each her story and that of the setting, and so they weave collectively in entrancing vogue.
As you ascend, you will be taught extra in regards to the mountain and encounter every little thing from indicators of misplaced civilizations to different adventurers, and even the our bodies of those who by no means made it again. Aava’s climb is not handled as purely triumphant, and the result’s a story that is highly effective and resonant in a approach that’ll stick with you lengthy after you step away. It additionally boasts some completely gorgeous landscapes which might be well worth the climb alone.
Cairn’s launch has already generated loads of hype, and The Recreation Bakers report that it is already shifted over 100,000 copies in its first 24 hours on sale. “We’re so excited to see so a lot of you get pleasure from Cairn,” it writes. “Thanks for becoming a member of the ascent. We hope you’re feeling the fervour we baked into the mountain.”
The workforce has to date deployed one patch addressing minor bugs corresponding to tutorials not disappearing, and provides a brief resolution for gamers who’re operating into fps points on AMD RX 9000 sequence playing cards, the Steam Deck, and the ROG Ally X. For Home windows customers, you will need to add ‘-force-d3d12’ to your launch choices, whereas on Linux and Steam Deck you must use ‘-force-vulkan’ as an alternative.
Cairn is on the market now on Steam, priced at $26.99 / £22.49 till Thursday February 12 because of a ten% launch low cost, or $29.99 / £24.99 thereafter. It seems like an early excessive bar for 2026, each actually and figuratively, so make sure you give it a glance if it sounds up your alley.
