“Is the rage boiling over?” Bennett Foddy asks me as I fall down a wooden plank for the dozenth time. The creator of QWOP and Getting Over It is known for games that can be both frustrating and meditative, pairing challenging physics with thoughtful design. The latest, Baby Steps, is similar — but a whole lot bigger.
I had a chance to play a chunk of the early portion of Baby Steps at 2025’s Game Developers Conference earlier this month. The game is developed by a trio made up of Foddy, Maxi Boch, and Ape Out creator Gabe Cuzzillo. It starts out pretty silly: you play as a slacker named Nate who is transported to a strange world with little choice but to hike. There are cutscenes where he babbles in confusion at his situation and a handful of characters who aren’t especially helpful. At one point, someone offers Nate a map, and he refuses; there is no gear that aids your adventure in Baby Steps.
Instead, the game is perhaps the most literal definition of a walking simulator. You move by controlling Nate’s two legs individually to take steps. At first, I couldn’t take more than a few steps before falling flat on my face, which, to be fair, was often hilarious. The physics makes the wipeouts in Baby Steps entertaining to watch. But it was also infuriating. Walking is supposed to be the easy part of a video game; you push the stick forward and go where you want to. But here, even the tiniest obstacle proved troublesome. The first time I saw a small staircase, I wondered how I’d ever make it.
But slowly, through a lot of trial and error, I fell into a rhythm. It reminded me a bit of Death Stranding, where I had to carefully pay attention to my movements if I wanted to get anywhere. For just regular walking up a path, this meant timing my steps just right so that I didn’t stumble. For obstacles like logs or staircases, it meant taking my time and carefully placing my foot where it needed to go. It never got easy, but at least I felt in control of my movements after a while.
Baby Steps takes place in what seems like a fairly large and open world, the kind of place where you can see something on the horizon and go there. The trick, of course, is being able to actually walk toward it. Early on, I came to a fork in the road: on one side was a gently sloping hill that led further up the mountain; on the other, a wooden plank across a muddy slope that led right back down to the bottom. After some deliberation, I attempted to get across the plank and, two steps later, found myself sliding in the mud.
The developers tell me that Baby Steps is built on the idea of “self guided play,” meaning there are no artificial obstacles in your way, and you don’t have to worry about things like health or death. It’s just you and the environment. And while it might not seem like it at first, the game isn’t really designed to be punishing. As an example, when I had my big fall down the mountain, it didn’t send me back to the beginning but instead brought me somewhere new that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. It also taught me an important lesson about taking on challenges I’m ready for.
I played for less than an hour, but I could already feel myself settling into a contemplative style of exploration I’ve experienced in games like Death Stranding and Breath of the Wild. There were no quests to complete or to-do lists to check off. Just me, my legs, and a serene mountain full of risks and rewards.
Baby Steps launches later this year on Steam and the PS5.
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