Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 79 | 30 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 91% | 85 | 330 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 92% | 86 | 362 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (May 22, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 362 total reviews in window · weighted 114.9 up / 10.6 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (15)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“This haunting WWI survival game strips away combat glory to expose war’s true horror through the eyes of three desperate soldiers. That’s the TBB Curator blurb, and the word “desperate” is doing work the community reviewers might replace with “determined” or “courageous” or “funny, right up until they’re not.” The Caribou Trail is one of those games where the brevity is the point. It gives you exactly as much time with these men as you need to care about them, and then it shows you what history did with them. $9.99 for a three-to-four hour narrative experience will always be a conversation about value frameworks. For players who see a short game as a short film, a contained artistic experience that doesn’t owe you duration, this is an easy recommendation. For history enthusiasts, WWI readers, or anyone from Newfoundland or the broader Atlantic Canadian community, it’s essential. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment deserves the representation. The Caribou Trail gives it to them with evident love. Also recommended by the developers’ first game, Two Falls (Nishu Takuatshina), if you want more from Unreliable Narrators.”
read full review ↗ - 81
“The moment you stop to watch the credits roll, everything else fades into the background: all that remains is the massive weight of the stories told. A cinematic and literary achievement that is all too rare in today's gaming landscape: stripping war of any heroic pretension to restore its tragic, naked humanity”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The Caribou Trail is one of the more emotionally grounded WW1 games I’ve played in a while. Its biggest strengths are easily the story, characters, and atmosphere. The game does a great job making the player care about the people at the center of its story while also capturing the emotional weight of the historical events that inspired it. It does have some performance issues, and the slower pacing definitely won’t be for everyone, but the overall experience left a strong impression on me. This is the kind of game that stays with you because of its mood and emotional moments rather than action or spectacle. If you enjoy story-driven games with strong atmosphere and character writing, The Caribou Trail is absolutely worth experiencing.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“War games generally tend to focus on mindless shooting and the glorification of war, whereas the story The Caribou Trail serves as a reminder of war's senselessness. Unfortunately, the game's visuals do not fully support the narrative; minor flaws frequently break the immersion. The result is a mixed experience that captures the intended emotional resonance only in a few moments. Nevertheless, it is an experience worth having if you are interested in war games that offer something different.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Caribou Trail left me caring for an unknown war story. Fisher, Gordon and Lonnie’s human tale of small island men being cast into a global conflict is equal parts sombre and heartwarming. The title’s great voice acting and audio design immersed me into this short story deeply.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“The Caribou Trail presents a strong, albeit short, story worth experiencing alongside some boring, tedious, and downright pointless mechanics. While I recommend it for the story, it is one of those games that leave me wishing it were just a movie or an interactive visual novel, rather than what can only be described as a walking simulator.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“First-person narrative journey set in 1915 and inspired by real events in the Gallipoli peninsula”
read full review ↗ - 68
“The earnest historical story focuses on mood and humanity over action, but The Caribou Trail's repetitive gameplay, slow pace, and lack of WWI realism weaken its interesting premise and excellent music.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Caribou Trail will not work for anyone expecting Battlefield, Call of Duty, or even a mechanically rich adventure game. Its interactions are basic, its path is linear, and some repetitive prompts last too long. But if you enjoy focused narrative games, it tells a powerful story about friendship, pain, and the small pieces of humanity people cling to when the world has gone mad. I enjoyed my time with it, and its final moments stayed with me long after the credits rolled.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Ultimately, my time with The Caribou Trail was refreshing. It provided me with a very important, albeit overlooked, perspective on a soldier’s life that deftly captured the doldrums that Orwell enumerated during his time in the trenches. The game honored a real World War 1 regiment that not many people know about, using a touching story about the bonds formed among countrymen. While the psychological horrors and exaggerated heroics didn’t really work for me, this game had a bleeding heart that will stick with me whenever I think back on this great world war. “We didn’t do nothing here,” one soldier said as they evacuated Gallipoli. “Getting out alive is not nothing,” the other responded. Perhaps, like that first soldier, I need to recalibrate my definition of a war hero.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Caribou Trail is a powerful, atmospheric WWI narrative experience with minimal gameplay but exceptional emotional depth. Its slow pace and repetitive tasks are intentional, serving the story rather than traditional game design. This may not be for everyone, but I sure enjoyed my time with it! If you value immersion and character drama over action, it’s a memorable and meaningful journey. With this in mind, I’ll be awarding The Caribou Trail a Thumb Culture Gold Award! Hopefully we see more from these developers going forward!”
read full review ↗ - 80
“The Caribou Trail from developers Unreliable Narrators and ManaVoid is an emotional and revealing experience about the horrors of World War I and what soldiers went through. It’s not for the weak of heart, nor is it for those looking for their next first-person shooter fix.”
read full review ↗
TheBigBois
Gamesource Italia
Gameffine
KonsoliFIN
Gamer Social Club
Try Hard Guides
PS3Blog.net
NoobFeed
Duuro Magazine
So Many Games
Thumb Culture
Digital Chumps…and 3 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Field Notes - Display HotfixesMay 22, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Field Notes - Issued OrdersFeb 26, 2026significant · resets scoring window