Baby Steps review — A crucible for the mind

At first glance, Nate appears to be one of the individuals society has let slip through the cracks. He’s thirty-five years old, unemployed, wasting his days away on nothing but recreational drugs and television while his parents provide for and placate him. The universe seemingly decided to intervene, and before you know it, Nate’s warped from his couch to a weird foreign world. Here, as he searches for a nice, quiet bathroom, he learns to put one foot in front of the other and put the work in to achieve his goals.

On its face, Baby Steps is a literal walking simulator. Played with a controller (which is recommended), you’ll pull the left trigger to lift Nate’s left foot, the right trigger to lift the right foot, and use the left joystick to control the movement of said foot as it’s lifted. When you release the trigger, Nate will set his foot down. Beyond that, the game is a physics simulator. Once you get used to the controls, you’ll develop your own cadence to control Nate’s gait. 

From start to finish, that’s all you do. Lift left leg, move it, set it down. Lift right leg, move it, set it down. Repeat. That’s where Baby Steps’ simplicity ends, though. As you travel through this strange world, you’ll have to navigate a whole series of environments and obstacles. There are stairs to climb, mine cart rails to work across, tight ledges to shimmy along, and more. 

The game amplifies its difficulty by adding new materials, like sand and ice, that complicate how Nate needs to work his way around. Perhaps it’s best to build momentum and sprint up a hill or slow it to a crawl, let each step lock in its footing, and slowly make your way around. The game’s critical path has plenty that will test your patience. I can’t tell you how many times I tried to climb a spiral staircase only to trip on a cactus when I finally reached the top and had to do it all over again. 

Sadistically (and by design), Baby Steps has no quick save or quick load features, no maps, and no other quality-of-life enhancements. In fact, much to my own chagrin at times, I am led to believe the game quietly saves each time one of your feet hits the ground. I tried to force quit (Alt+F4) the game on a couple of occasions (and as a sort of rage quit), hoping to subvert my recent blunder, only to find Nate standing in the exact location I’d landed or, in the case of a quit mid-fall, my face crashing into dirt. Looking back on it, I appreciate the metagame keeping me accountable for my actions, much like Nate’s experience does for him.

Nate’s journey to find a way out will take him several days’ travel. Each day breaks the game into a unique zone with a defined start and end goal (usually a campfire). Between the beginning and the end, the world is yours to explore. Baby Steps is chock-full of hidden items and events to uncover. I’m curious to hear what experiences everyone has that I likely missed on my playthrough.

There are several hidden hats you can nab and wear, too. They’re often fun, goofy-looking items that a man in a onesie looks absurd wearing. Reaching the campfire with a hat, though, will get you a quick minigame with some sort of backstory element for Nate’s real-world life. They can be sobering reminders that Nate ended up in his situation with real-life baggage, too. 

Rolling credits on the game will get you an interactive map that shows the path you took on your journey. You also get to see how long it took you and how many steps you took along the way. I got to spend 8.5 hours with Nate, clocking in right around 33,500 steps. Thanks for reminding me that my controller triggers each had 16,000+ button presses in just a couple of play sessions.

From a visual standpoint, Baby Steps is an immensely bizarre game. Human facial models feel like they were pulled straight out of Valve’s Source 2 engine and the Skibidi Toilet video, with some minor changes. The world is full of weird, shocking geometry and odd, out-of-place installments that keep the sense of wonder and fascination alive. The game’s voice actors did an excellent job playing into their roles. I have to say, though, I despise the game’s soundtrack. Intended to be a bit of lighthearted, goofy amusement, the constant repetitive chirps, quacks, and grunts from various unseen wildlife ranged from passively uninteresting to downright distracting and infuriating, particularly when I’d just fallen down a slick flight of stairs the 37th time. 

I have to give Foddy, Boch, and Cuzzillo credit. I was initially put off by some of the storytelling elements, and I wanted to set the game down and walk away. There are some neat characters in here, but early on, much of Nate’s interaction is with a group of vulgar, half-naked (literal genitalia swingin’ in the wind) anthropomorphic donkeys who just want to drink and party. As the story continues, we see Nate’s progress, both in world journey and character development. The way they conclude Nate’s story feels both deep and poignant. It has elements of hope, despair, self-worth, and more, all cleverly interwoven with elements of a well-known fairytale. By the time credits rolled, I stepped away feeling like I’d played a philosophical dissertation instead of a Ren & Stimpy cartoon.

While the story wrapped satisfyingly, the churlish elements of edgy '90s cartoons certainly still feel present. Baby Steps has juvenile humor, yes, but the timing and delivery hit in a way that got several chuckles out of me. Nate begins the story completely unsure of, well, much of anything. He wants to avoid awkward situations while still seeking to people-please. This makes for some uncomfortable moments that quickly pivot into hilarity. They’re well-executed in such a way that I expect lines from the game to be adopted into gaming meme culture, and that’s a win for any game.

Baby Steps was an experience I came to with the understanding I’d be frustrated and challenged at times. What I walked away with (heh) was the immense satisfaction of overcoming a significantly demanding journey I’d committed to. While some of the game’s elements were a turn-off, realizing the deeper meaning behind why and seeing Nate’s story conclude filled me with a genuine sense of satisfaction I hope everyone eventually gets to experience.