Cairn

The climb in Cairn asks you to read the rock, choose holds and balance each move, while carrying supplies for the long ascent. For players drawn to deliberate route-finding and survival management, the price of ≈ $12.87 at GOG is a timely way to take on Aava’s attempt at Mount Kami; the recorded low makes this a particularly clear buying opportunity. At ≈ $12.87, Cairn is at its recorded low, so its hands-on climbing and mountain survival make a compelling fit for this kind of challenge.

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94%Steam Reviews18.8K reviews86Metacritic/10086OpenCritic/100

Released: Jan 29, 2026

Stylized · Exploration · Indie · Difficult · Adventure

GOGCairn·Platform:·Checked 2026-10-20~~~ $16.17~~-20%from~ $12.87(~ CN¥86.00)ALL-TIME LOWSave $17.12 vs SteamBuy now

EnebaCairn Steam Key (PC) ROW·Platform:·Checked 2026-10-20-53%from~ $14.22ALL-TIME LOWBuy now

KinguinCairn PC Steam CD Key·Platform:·Checked 2026-10-19~~~ $33.66~~-57%from~ $14.56(~ €12.97)ALL-TIME LOWBuy now

GAMIVOCairn Global·Platform:·Checked 2026-10-19-51%from~ $14.63(~ €13.03)ALL-TIME LOWBuy now

CDKeysCairn PC·Platform:·Checked 2026-10-20~~~ $34.79~~-56%from~ $15.29ALL-TIME LOWBuy now

K4GCairn Standard Edition Steam CD Key·Platform:·Checked 2026-10-20~~~ $33.66~~-52%from~ $16.14(~ €14.38)ALL-TIME LOWBuy now

GreenManGaming·Platform:·Checked 2026-10-14~~~ $29.99~~-34%~ $19.67Buy now

GamesPlanet US·Platform:·Checked 2026-10-14~~~ $29.99~~-34%~ $19.70Buy now

All-time low ~ $16.99across Steam & third-party storesat the recorded all-time low

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Price History

Past 36 months · Updated daily

Historical Low~ $12.452026-07Current Low Across Stores~ $19.49Kinguinvs. Historical Low+57%

Prices cover Steam and 39 authorized stores; only legitimate offers are counted. The chart shows weekly market-wide lows and Steam's official price across the past 36 months.

01About Cairn

As Aava, a professional climber, chart a route up Mount Kami, a summit no one has reached. Place hands and feet on the rock, adjust posture, effort and balance, and solve difficult sections as you climb. Manage climbing gear, food, water and medicine, and make bivouacs during the ascent. On Steam for PC, 94% of 18,734 player reviews are positive. Interface languages include English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Full audio is available in English. The release date is January 29, 2026.

Credits

DIRECTOR

Emeric Thoa

video game designer

NotableFuri · Haven · Cairn

WRITER

Mathieu Bablet

French comics artist (born 1987)

NotableCairn

Developer

The Game Bakers

Publisher

The Game Bakers

Steam player reviews

94%positiveVery Positive18,842 Steam reviews

Lowest recorded in 36 months

$12.452026-07-30 · KinguinBase game · same records as the chart above; USD history, not a regional Steam low.

Language support

Language	Interface	Subtitles	Audio
Simplified Chinese	Yes	Yes	—
Traditional Chinese	Yes	Yes	—
English	Yes	Yes	Yes

Show 8 more languages

Language	Interface	Subtitles	Audio
French	Yes	Yes	—
Italian	Yes	Yes	—
German	Yes	Yes	—
Spanish	Yes	Yes	—
Japanese	Yes	Yes	—
Russian	Yes	Yes	—
Korean	Yes	Yes	—
Portuguese-Brazil	Yes	Yes	—

Steam PC edition data · 2026-10-20

02Before you buy

Climbing and survival

Climb freely across the mountain and plan routes by reading the rock face. Pitons, chalk, finger tape, food, water and medicine are among the resources to manage.

Difficulty and controls

The climbing challenge can be adjusted, and the Steam PC version has full controller support.

Language support

The Steam PC listing includes English audio and interface, plus interface support for Simplified and Traditional Chinese.

03Frequently asked questions

Who is Aava?

Aava is a professional climber attempting to reach Mount Kami’s untouched summit.

Can I choose my own climbing route?

Yes. You can climb freely, scout the rock face and plan a route to the top.

What survival tasks are part of the ascent?

You manage climbing supplies as well as food, water and medicine, and can set up bivouacs.

Popular Steam reviews

Native-language selection · 10 reviews

Selected helpful reviews in this language show both recommendations and criticisms. This selection does not represent the overall positive rating; opinions reflect the version reviewed.

RecommendedSteam player

01/31/2026

Every once in a while a game is released that instantly reminds me why I have always loved video games, and this is one of them. Genuinely beautiful game so far, that makes the slow act of climbing incredibly engagingShow moreShow less

1.6 hours at review670 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

01/29/2026

Not going to refund because I'm sure there is a good game here once I get back on my PC but the performance on steam deck is awful. i really wish steamdeck verified wasn't completely inaccurate so often. i'll change my reco when it is either fixed or I get a proper try on pcShow moreShow less

0.6 hours at review257 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

01/29/2026

Today is my Birthday, the fact I have been waiting for this to release for a while and its today of all days is great! EDIT: Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes, hope you all have a great day/night playing on your favourite games.Show moreShow less

1.3 hours at review602 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

02/02/2026

I expected so much from the game. the gameplay felt good at first but became an absolute ♥♥♥♥ show after the 2nd half of the story, It made no sense whatsoever. Aana can break her torso and legs to find impossible grips but is absolutely incapable of reaching the easiest resting positions. the story is mediocre at best, you're basically a 40year old toddler that refuses to evolve and only find refuge by breaking stuff and yelling when facing the slightest inconvenience.Show moreShow less

14.8 hours at review126 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

01/30/2026

Jusant, step aside. The boss has entered. Summing up the current: 2+ hours played so far +2 hours in the demo, which hooked me immediately and made me throw it straight into the wishlist. A year of waiting for the release, with delays along the way. A French team that sweated over this project for 3 to 5 years, depending on diff sources. And what can I say. So far it looks like Game of the Year material. Maybe not a straight-up “Game of the Year” title, unless Gabe suddenly takes mercy and releases HL3, or Playground somehow doesn’t screw up Fable, but it absolutely looks like a strong contender for “Indie of the Year”. First: the climbing mechanics. Control here is extremely precise down to every movement, the controls are comfortable, animations are smooth, and the sense of the character’s body weight and that constant “one more slip and you’re done” feeling is spot on. Second: you actually have to plan and survive. I liked Jusant, it have its charm, but that’s a pleasant, casual, beautiful fantasy story (also by the French, by the way). But here we have a hardcore game. Hunger can kill you, thirst can kill you, cold can kill you, falling and cracking your skull is very much an option, and resources are not infinite. Yes, there are plenty of consumables around that can be crafted or cooked into something useful/what you can eat, but you still have to find them. You can bandage each finger separately, cook food out of whatever crap you scavenge nearby, the weather changes, and there’s a day-night cycle. I can already imagine what awaits higher up the mountain: far more aggressive cold, far fewer resources. Third: unexpectedly, the game actively rewards curiosity and exploration. If you like climbing somewhere extra or slipping into some side passage where a bonus, a perk, a bit of lore, or maybe vital survival resources are waiting for you, this is your place. I was trained from childhood on Deus Ex and Thief, so I’m the kind of player who loves poking around off the critical path, into caves or cracks, just to happily find loot or a fragment of story. It’s a great feeling when developers in games like this give you a knowing nod that says, “Yes, we expected you here, you curious little bastard. We added this specifically for the 5% of players like you. Here, have some loot and a medal, you my playful fool.” And you grin at the monitor with that warm sense of pride from a dopamine hit. I mean, that’s why we play games, right? Fourth:atmosphere. Ambient sounds play, you’re in a tent on a high cliff, a pot is heating water, wind tears at the tent, and rain rages outside. The game is quite tense, yet it always finds moments like these where you can breathe and relax. That cost too much, especially after hard day at work - boot up your PC or console, relax, take yourself into different world or situation or....I mean, that’s why we play games too, right?? Fifth: the sense of progress. A strange plus, but there’s something powerful in it. Look at Half-Life 2: you constantly see the Citadel. With every step, it gets closer and closer. The entire journey behind you feels like one big adventure toward a single goal, almost a road movie, and that goal is always in front of your eyes. The Talos Principle 2 is built around this idea. Stealth games live off it entirely, take Styx (French game again!) or Thief 2 with its massive Mechanists’ Tower. Here, it’s a huge mountain. From the very start at its base, there’s a feeling that you’ll never conquer this thing. With every cliff you climb, the summit feels closer and closer, the goal more achievable than before. This is wired into our DNA, really. I think this is the psychology of climbing itself. Sixth: minimalism. Before Cairn, I booted up BF6, and the 50 tabs in the main menu, the notifications, battle passes, battle pass points, whatever those even are, gave me a headache. I honestly don’t understand 60% of the menu. It feels like someone took a dump all over it. So many elements, so much clutter, and I only ever use five of them. I just want to run around and shoot some tanks after work, not grind battle pass points. This isn’t even a dig at BF6. The poor series just became a victim of trends. Most games are like this now, even ones that aren’t live services. And what a relief it is to launch Cairn and see a clean main menu with four neat tabs, no unnecessary crap, a tidy interface that doesn’t cover half the screen. Want to support the developer? Here’s a separate Deluxe page that clearly tells you what you get. It sounds weird, but when I bought the game, I paid for that too. Not for a menu-induced headache of “uhhh, I just want to drive some tanks… where do I go… where are the settings… okay… and where’s the server browser…?”. That just a dev respect to players basic principle. Good games are experiences. And the experience Cairn offers is special, because the project is genuinely unique and currently has no real equal. Sorry, Jusant, you’re good in your own way. DontNod, we love you, no hard feelings. If you don’t want to crack your skull in real life while climbing mountains, you can do it here instead. My only complaint, and the developers probably won’t read this anyway, but ill try - is that I really love to see a Ukrainian text localization. I’d really love for more people from the Ukrainian community to get familiar with a project like this. Update: I conquer Kami this evening. 7 ingame days, 16 hours, 42 falls, 1 death, with 2 almost empty bottles of water and few meds. What a journey, what an experience. This is absolutely Indie of the Year material, without question. P.S. S. As a small bonus: If you enjoy the atmosphere of this game, I highly recommend checking out the French (again!) animated film Le Sommet des Dieux (2021). It’s based on a Japanese manga, so the film feels like an intriguing blend of Eastern and Western cultures. The theme and atmosphere are very similar to the Cairn.Show moreShow less

16.2 hours at review395 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

02/05/2026

Narcissist Simulator 7.5/10 The gameplay is great. The art style is awesome. As a climber it really does engage the same part of my brain to pick holds. I really like how she can do step-though climbing moves and using your legs takes way less stamina than real life. Mechanically the game is innovative and great. The main character and story is distractingly bad. No wonder Aava is exhausted all the time with how needlessly abrasive, rude and up her rear end she behaves. It really takes away from an otherwise great game because I keep thinking about what a needlessly annoying c you next Tuesday she is for no reason. She acts like she should be charging by the minute whenever she talks to someone. In the game near the beginning her publicist asks her to take photos of the trek or give him updates (you know so she can do what she likes doing!) and she acts like its this monumental task and has zero regard for her friend’s concerns about putting her possible suicide mission or wanting an update as to whether she’s dead or not. Her personality reflects in her character model too and damages an otherwise great game. I hope they will make an update or add-on in the future with a more likable character. She’s the kind of person that would act like an elitist expert about something, but if you were to actually ask a question of her you would be met with a, “Im not here to educate you!1!!11”. I’m not even saying they need to change the female lead or anything, I just don’t want to play as a jerk narcissist who isn’t at least a funny/endearing jerk. Wait for it to go half off. Edit: Finished the game. My play time is deceiving. I I’m an adult and don't have a lot of time to knock out hours in a sitting so I leave the game running and AFK a lot and come back to the game. I probably have 15 hours of actual play time and the rest is AFK time. After finishing it still think its a 7.5/10. Lots of fresh and interesting mechanics, great art style but the main character remains horrendous. Avaa’s attempts at humor fall flat. Its still a narcissist simulator. Played both endings, kind of meh. It would have been a slam dunk 10/10 with a more likeable character and some story revision.Show moreShow less

44.1 hours at review97 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

02/01/2026

Cairn is everything I'd hoped it to be, and more. Nearly every aspect of the game reinforces its portrayal of climbing as a feat that is extremely demanding, and perhaps reckless. Everything is meant to keep you on edge and make you calculate your moves — and in its best moments, you feel just as stressed as Aava would be. The tension is primarily kept up with two things. The first are the survival mechanics — you are on multiple timers (mostly Hunger and Thirst) simultaneously, all of the time, and you have to manage them to ensure you're in best shape to continue climbing. The second is simply Aava herself. Every shake of a limb, every vocalization of pain helps convey the struggle and put you in her place. The sound design in general deserves a lot of praise, both in effects and in music. The weather sounds just as oppressive as it should, and the soundscape does a good job at immersing the player. The soundtrack by The Toxic Avenger really elevates the setpieces, and the ambience (both ambient music, and general nature sounds) are pleasant to the ear. Admittedly I'm still conflicted on what the story meant to convey, there are still a lot of things that I need to mull over, but to me the narrative was one of what we're willing to sacrifice for what we define as parts of ourselves. I'm baffled by the discourse surrounding Aava being unlikeable though — like, yeah, that's the point??? Main characters being disagreeable and not someone you'd root for isn't anything new for The Game Bakers, let alone media in general (see also: Breaking Bad and Moby ♥♥♥♥). Yet this set people off for reasons I cannot even fathom. Onto the cons: The auto limb select sucks, straight up. The game is impossible to play without having to correct with manual select at least once at every wall. The algorithm for choosing limb priority is flawed and has a worrying consistency at being wrong. The "tiring" system sometimes doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Positions that look fine will exhaust Aava, and something seemingly inhuman will allow you to catch your breath. It can catch you off-guard and cause you to panic. Despite how much emphasis the game puts onto the weather, and it being very effective in terms of aesthetics, it ends up not really affecting the gameplay. I never felt affected by the wind or the cold, the fog basically doesn't exist, and I think the rain makes surfaces slippery, but I barely felt that. It ends up just kind of... being there.Show moreShow less

16.9 hours at review280 people found this helpful

Source: original Steam user reviews. Helpful votes are an archived snapshot, not live data. Last collected: 08/15/2026.