The new video game Baby Steps sets up a goal that sounds deceptively simple: climb a mountain. But the trick, and really the entire heart of the experience, is that players must control every single step of the protagonist, Nate, in a world ruled entirely by physics. That means walking in a straight line can feel like a monumental task, and more often than not, Nate ends up in a heap on the ground.
The game comes from a trio of developers: Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, and Bennett Foddy, the latter being best known for the infamous challenge of Getting Over It. True to Foddy’s style, Baby Steps thrives on repeated failure, where tripping, stumbling, and collapsing are not setbacks but part of the intended comedy.
Key Takeaways
- Baby Steps is a physics-based walking simulator where players directly control each leg of the main character, Nate.
- The game is a collaboration between Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, and Bennett Foddy, creator of QWOP and Getting Over It.
- Players explore an open world, climbing a mountain filled with obstacles that test the very basics of movement.
- Failure is constant and deliberate, with every tumble designed to amuse rather than frustrate.
At its core, the game’s control scheme is what makes it so unusual. Players lift, swing, and place each of Nate’s feet with care, turning the ordinary act of walking into something that feels more like solving a puzzle. A single wrong foot placement or a tiny lapse in balance can send Nate, who begins the game as a jobless man living in his parents’ basement before mysteriously ending up in this strange world—tumbling down cliffs. Even his onesie tells the story of struggle, becoming dirtier with every fall.
The design philosophy is unmistakably tied to Foddy’s earlier experiments in awkward, punishing controls. Where QWOP and Getting Over It found humor in limited environments, Baby Steps takes the same spirit and stretches it into a vast, explorable landscape. Players can pick their own route up the mountain, but no matter which way they go, there are steep drops and uneven terrain waiting to undo their hard-earned progress.
Conversations about the game often focus on the strange balance it strikes between frustration and laughter. On forums like Reddit, players describe spending several minutes trying to scale a single ledge, only to slip and fall all the way back down in seconds. But instead of pure despair, the floppy ragdoll way Nate crashes to the ground tends to soften the blow and make failure oddly funny.
Adding to this, the game features a dynamic soundtrack that shifts with the player’s actions and a non-violent setup where the only real threat is gravity itself, or perhaps the player’s clumsy attempts to master it.
Baby Steps is available now on PC and PlayStation 5.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. What kind of game is Baby Steps?
A. ‘Baby Steps’ is a 3D physics-based walking simulator. You control the character’s legs individually to walk and climb a large mountain, with a high chance of falling in a comical way.
Q. Who developed Baby Steps?
A. The game was developed by Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, and Bennett Foddy. It was published by Devolver Digital.
Q. Is Baby Steps related to Getting Over It?
A. Yes, one of its creators, Bennett Foddy, also created ‘Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy’. Both games share a design philosophy centred on difficult controls, punishing physics, and overcoming a single large obstacle (a mountain of junk in ‘Getting Over It’, a literal mountain in ‘Baby Steps’).
Q. What platforms is Baby Steps available on?
A. ‘Baby Steps’ is available on PC (via Steam) and PlayStation 5.
Q. Is there combat in Baby Steps?
A. No, ‘Baby Steps’ is a non-violent game. The primary challenges are navigation, balance, and dealing with the forces of gravity.
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