PLATFORM: PC, PS5 (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Socially awkward Nate, 35, lives at home with his parents, spends his time sat in front of the TV, watching anime and smoking weed while wearing a manky oversized romper suit, and presumably hasn’t been outside for quite some time. Suddenly, he finds himself transported to a cave where he’s greeted by a friendly man called Jim. Not knowing how to react to this completely normal human, Nate mumbles some excuses and heads out of the cave. Which is easier said than done, because as soon as you take control of Nate you immediately realise a) why the game is called “Baby Steps” and b) how ridiculously tricky this experience is going to be.
To move Nate around, you control both of his legs independently – the left and right triggers move the corresponding leg (the harder you press, the higher he raises his leg), while the left thumbstick handles the placement of his raised foot and, when both feet are on the floor, shifts his weight to actually move his body. It’s exactly as awkward as it sounds, but you’re eased in gently with some nice flat terrain to give you a chance to figure things out before your main objective is revealed – to climb to the top of a nearby mountain…
Nate’s path – handily marked out by campfires that act as waypoints – can either be fairly straightforward, thanks to a mostly clear and obvious “easy route” (which still has its fair share of challenges), or you can make things much harder (and funnier) by heading off the main path and attempting to conquer the many obstacles that can be found across the mountainside. Observation towers, a giant seesaw, tightropes, crumbling buildings, and precariously placed platforms are just a few of the hazards you’ll come across, and the risk of falling (then screaming with rage and launching your controller at the screen) is always incredibly high. Slippery surfaces, uneven ground and fast moving streams prove to be the most infuriating hazards in the early going, with the danger increasing as you progress further up the mountain and the terrain drastically changes. There are no checkpoints in the game, so when (not if, when) Nate falls off a cliff, the only option is to climb back up – no reloading, no shortcuts, just pure effort.
Your efforts are rewarded nicely though, as the more time you spend exploring your surroundings, the more likely you are to be rewarded with some of the most unhinged and genuinely hilarious cutscenes you could possibly wish for. The ubiquitous Jim, a bunch of donkey / human hybrids (nude from the waist down, if you choose to enable the filter in the options menu), and a fellow mountaineer are just a few of the people you’ll meet along the way, and Nate’s interactions with them are completely absurd to the point where you end up feeling so confused by what’s happening that you can sort of understand where Nate is coming from. Having said that, Nate and the cast of characters are all very warm and friendly, despite their often abrupt, dismissive and sleazy dialogue, and by the time the game ends you sort of think to yourself “I’m gonna miss those guys”. There’s every chance that you’ll skip some of the trickier challenges or miss some side quests on your first playthrough, though (or, more likely, seen an obstacle and immediately thought “fuck that” before turning around and heading in another direction), so there’s likely to be more than a few reasons to return and spend a bit more time with your new gang of best mates.
Coming from developer Bennett Foddy, who has made a name for himself with games like QWOP and Getting Over It, both of which feature similarly ridiculous physics-based movement, it’s no surprise that Baby Steps is as absurd as it is. What is surprising, though, is how addictive it can be, and how funny and endearing (and weird and demented) its characters are. Baby Steps is something completely unique, and one of the finest additions to any cult game fan’s library that’s been released for quite some time.
