A new PS5 exclusive game is getting great reviews

New PlayStation 5 exclusive console Cairn debuted to excellent reviews and its immense level of criticism makes it currently the highest rated game of 2026 on any platform. While it's also available on PC, its early commercial momentum seems to be largely driven by PS5 owners, based on some circumstantial evidence.

The eighth title from French indie studio The Game Bakers – known for Furry, Refugeand Squids Odyssey—Cairn is a climbing survival game with amazing vistas and relentless challenges. Set on the fictional Mount Kami, players are tasked with planning routes and managing resources while traversing increasingly dangerous terrain. Cairn was released via the PlayStation Store and Steam this Thursday, January 29, shortly after the 18-month anniversary of its original announcement on Day of the Devs 2024.

Cairn debuts to rave reviews

The Cairn the review embargo was lifted just prior to the game's global release, which occurred at noon ET / 6:00 PM CET. Within four hours of The Game Bakers lifting their review restrictions, the game had accumulated 40 professional reviews tracked by OpenCritic, with an average score of 87 and a 90% recommendation rate. In addition to earning the elusive “Mighty” rating on the platform, these impressive metrics make it official Cairn the highest-scoring title of 2026 so far. While it's still early in the year, this largely positive reception is strengthening Cairn's previously established reputation as one of the most exciting new titles of January.

Cairn Review Summary

OpenCritic: 87 avg. score, 90% referral rate
PS store: 4.64 star player rating
Steam: no user ratings yet

Looking beyond the random numbers taken out of context, soon Cairn reviews are almost unanimous in their praise for the game's art style, which mixes minimalism with strong naturalistic influences, but heavily stylizes both, while following colorimetry and several other principles. This approach is consistent with the portfolio of Mathieu Bablet, a longtime French comics artist who has served as art director and writer for Cairn. Bablet is known for his richly colored illustrations and impressive compositions that often frame the landscape in a very dramatic way – all techniques are evident throughout the game.

Top 10 highest rated games (January) 2026, according to OpenCritic

#	Game	Platforms	Avg. Score	% Recommend
1	Cairn	PC, PS5	87	90%
2	Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven	PC, PS4/5, XSXS, Switch 1/2	86	100%
3	Escape from Ever After	PC, Switch, XB1, XBXS, PS5	84	91%
4	Temirana: The Happy Princess and the Tragic Knights	Switch	83	100%
5	The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon	PC, PS4/5, Switch 1/2	83	91%
6	TR-49	pc	83	100%
7	MIO: Memories in Orbit	PC, PS5, XSXS, Switch 1/2	83	82%
8	Pathological 3	PC, PS5, Xbox One	81	82%
9	Arknights: Endfield	PC, PS5	80	83%
10	Earth must die	pc	79	67%

Although it is too early for official sales figures, Cairn the already collected thousands of user reviews on the PlayStation Store is an encouraging sign. Review-to-purchase ratios vary widely by genre, developer, region, and other factors, but are typically low—often requiring hundreds or even thousands of purchases per user-submitted review. An indie title generating roughly 3,500 PS Store player reviews within hours of release is an indirect but meaningful indicator that Cairn could become one of the strongest commercial artists of January 2026, despite being launched at the end of the month.

Cairn is currently available with a small 10% discount, bringing its price down to $26.99 until February 12th on both Steam and the PS Store.

By the same metric, Cairn It seems to have had a more modest start on Steam, with just over 100 user reviews three hours after launch. These early impressions are in line with its critical reception, with Valve currently labeling it as “Very Positive”. According to more specific data coming from the Steam API, more than 82.6% current Cairn the reviews on the platform – few as they may be – are positive. Its encouraging debut adds to the mini-boom of traversal-centric games, from Death Stranding on Baby steps.