Baby Steps

Baby Steps is not a game for a broad audience. But it’s not just rage bait trying to frustrate players while providing amusement to passive observers. There are lessons to be learned and accomplishments to be felt. It tiptoes on the knife’s edge of punishment and profundity, victimizing or enthralling, depending on the player. That fine line opens the path for both a brilliant anti-game or a fist through your screen, your mileage simply may vary.

This is a game that is tailor-made for my taste, tickling my nerves exactly where I want to be tickled. But I also have to look at the bigger picture, and the truth is that Baby Steps is a polarising game. The adolescent humour, which for me is a huge plus, is also what will make many others want to turn off the game quickly. It's both its greatest strength and its Achilles' heel, quite simply.

Baby Steps surpassed all my expectations and even small grievances to become a thrilling, trying and memorable journey about being better and learning to ask for help. It’s certainly one of the harder ‘one of those’ types of ragebait climbing games, but each step it makes in tackling this niche is as deliberate as the ones you’re making as the clumsy Nate. What’s within is a refinement of the subgenre, providing a layered and surprisingly poignant world and story to explore. Bennett Foddy and co. have made their opus here, and even with every plummet and misstep I made, I had the best experience that in the space I’ve ever had, uniquely hating, loving, loathing and delighting in it. If the devs are reading this, I hate you guys. But also, I bloody love you.

Baby Steps won’t click with everyone, but if you have the patience, it delivers one of the most memorable and oddly inspiring platformers in years. Every laugh comes with frustration, every fall makes the next step sweeter, and the whole thing somehow feels worth it. It’s clumsy and challenging, but also one of the most charmingly human games you’ll play this generation.

Of course, Baby Steps is too ‘out there’ for everyone to like. In reality, it's a very special game that will only appeal to those who are looking for truly new experiences and enjoy delirious, crude, and politically incorrect humor, combined with gameplay that is as challenging as it is frustrating but, despite being difficult and painful, ultimately addictive. Many people will hate it, but for me it's the freshest and most original game I've enjoyed in years.

Baby Steps is a compelling, frustrating mix of wandering and storytelling. Nate is unlikeable and the humour plays off his inability to accept help or advice. Traversal is surprisingly accessible but leaves plenty of room for skill and challenge. The lack of a map really messed with my sense of direction and the later game really tried my patience. It's an accomplished effort that I think is worth playing, if you've got the patience for it.

With intentionally difficult physics-based gameplay, Baby Steps can bring out the worst or best in you. If you're willing to gel with the QWOP-style controls for a sense of self-accomplishment, with an absurd but impactful story, then it may just be worth tripping over yourself for.

Part physics-based, slapstick open world walking sim, part satire of the worst parts of modern gaming, Baby Steps is a stumblecore banger that only those with a penchant for punishment and hyper-realistic donkey dicks will manage.

Baby Steps is more than it first appears, offering up a heartfelt story about a man grappling with his insecurities as he's forced to keep going. The intentionally tricky walking and climbing is a lot of fun to grapple with, and there's plenty of silly stuff to discover in the open world setting. Your mileage may vary due to various factors, not least the amount of punishment you'll take as you scramble up the mountain, but it's a journey worth taking for those willing to persist.

Baby Steps is absurd, clumsy, and oddly heartwarming all at once. Its hilarious ragdoll physics and painfully precise controls turn every step into a slapstick struggle, while the underdog charm of Nate keeps you rooting for him through the frustration. Not for the impatient, but a unique ode to failing, falling, and getting back up again.

Baby Steps is exactly all it’s advertised to be. A clumsy, physics-first walking simulator that places an unwashed oaf at the heart of a very odd world. I don’t feel like it’s as punishing as Getting Over it, but the game’s singular goal of getting through it, step by step, makes for a surprising experience that makes walking, of all things, a lot of fun.

Baby Steps is clearly aimed at a specific audience, with its clueless exploration and gameplay based on trial, error, and eventual frustration. Therefore, it may not be the best choice for those who just want to enjoy an open world. However, if you're the kind of person who can compose yourself after taking at least 80 deep breaths before redoing the same thing before freaking out, Bennett Foddy's new creation is ideal for your library.

If you like the idea of QWOP and Getting Over It but bounced off the difficulty, Baby Steps is perfect for you – most of the time. But, if you relished the frustration of those games, then this is absolutely the game for you. With a similar hiking allure to Death Stranding, Baby Steps is all about putting your best foot forward which, more often than not, the game does just as well.

Baby Steps is a unique, yet somewhat divisive experience. Its sarcastic humor, awkward controls, and experimental approach will appeal to those who enjoy unusual challenges and don't mind getting angry to overcome them. For everyone else, the game may simply be frustrating.

If you don't mind the sim-heavy frustrations related to the controls in Baby Steps, you'll enjoy Nate's adventure and all his gaffs and the game's brand of humour. Cutscenes lack much of a point besides making Nate seem insecure and feeble, but despite how memorable and amusing it tries to be-Baby Steps tests your resolve more than anything. There is a meaningful tale behind it all, but Baby Steps more often than not makes you feel sorry for Nate and the odds are always stacked against you-just like Nate. Give it a go then, but nobody should blame if you take one trip too many and just don't feel like continuing the repetitive trudge.

Challenging you to make your way up a mountain, Baby Steps is likely to be one of the most divisive games of the year. With its hands-off approach, you're left to find your own fun as you ascend, and struggle with the simple act of walking. Ultimately, it just feels a little too aimless and punishing for its own good.

Baby Steps is a deliberately provocative video game. Its goal is not to challenge you to master the physics that governs Nate's movements, but to speak to your gut, triggering reactions of frustration, anger, and visceral emotion. After all, that's its nature: it's a rage game. It will surely be the subject of thousands of angry reactions from those who play it with an audience behind the screen, and its most extreme moments will rack up millions of views. This is the fate it has chosen. But, outside the context of online entertainment, is it fun to play? Baby Steps is, at times, one of the most irritating gaming experiences we’ve ever had: its cringe humor is annoying, and the most extreme obstacles often give the impression that success is just a matter of luck. If you're masochistic enough, it can provoke a strange and irresistible pleasure. For everyone else, the answer to the question posed in the title is no: there’s little beyond the meme.