Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Cairn Launches on PS5 and PC to Strong, Qualified Reviews for Its Tactile Climbing

Early reviews celebrate a striking atmosphere, with opaque controls plus PS5 frame‑rate dips reported.

Overview

  • The Game Bakers’ climbing-focused survival game released January 29, 2026 on PlayStation 5 and Windows via Steam.
  • Players move Aava’s limbs one at a time in a physics-driven system that rewards careful route finding and balance.
  • Critics say the automatic limb selection can feel unintuitive or unpredictable, with a slower, fussier manual override available.
  • Survival layers include managing hunger, thirst, warmth, stamina, and health, with weather considerations and limited bivouac camps to save, cook, rest, repair gear, and tape fingers.
  • Self-drilling pitons act as mid-climb respite and safety, and difficulty options include a Free Solo permadeath mode, while reviews praise visuals and sound but note PS5 frame-rate drops and occasional minor PC hiccups.