Climbing is all the trend nowadays. Scaling seemingly insurmountable heights has been a core intuition of players in every single place 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 quite totally different path, choosing a way more private, atmospheric, and contemplative strategy to its mountainous challenges, and it is already proving an enormous winner.
Cairn comes from French studio The Recreation Bakers, identified finest for sci-fi slasher Furi and romantic house journey Haven. Its newest outing places you within the footwear of professional climber Aava, a reclusive type 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 strategy that jogs my memory of the magnificent Develop House the place you progress limbs manually, one after the other, making certain you retain maintain and preserve your stability as you ascend.
This strategy allows you to take a totally freeform route upwards within the vein of Breath of the Wild, however very similar to Hyperlink you will have to decide on your path fastidiously if you wish to really get wherever. By default, Aava will routinely choose the very best limb to maneuver subsequent based mostly on her present stability and grip, however if you happen to actually wish to take a look at your self there’s the choice to take full guide management over this as effectively. I might suggest steering clear right here except you are already an professional, nevertheless, as a mistaken transfer can rapidly see you plummeting.
The Recreation Bakers says it needs every wall to really feel “like a boss battle,” though it does supply customizable issue choices if you happen to’re discovering issues a bit overwhelming. You may have to hold observe of sources like meals, water, drugs, pitons, chalk, and finger tape to fastidiously 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 can too grasp from them to let your limbs recuperate a little bit.
There are definitely some parts that can attraction to those who loved the methodical meandering of Child Steps, and even the likes of Demise Stranding. Cairn additionally leans into Aava’s character very intentionally; she’s self-motivated and relentless, vulnerable to bursts of emotion and prepared to push herself additional than she most likely ought to at occasions. That is each her story and that of the setting, and so they weave collectively in entrancing style.
As you ascend, you will study extra concerning the mountain and encounter the whole lot 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 take pleasure in Cairn,” it writes. “Thanks for becoming a member of the ascent. We hope you’re feeling the fervour we baked into the mountain.”
The group has to date deployed one patch addressing minor bugs resembling tutorials not disappearing, and affords a brief answer 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 wish to add ‘-force-d3d12’ to your launch choices, whereas on Linux and Steam Deck it is best to use ‘-force-vulkan’ as a substitute.
Cairn is accessible 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 appears like an early excessive bar for 2026, each actually and figuratively, so be sure you give it a glance if it sounds up your alley.
