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One of the most surprising games this year, Baby Steps, replaces action with just trying to move.
Unlike many titles that rely on plot and cutting-edge visuals to hook the player, Baby Steps literally leans into its sometimes-comical control system.
Players control Nate, a bumbling 35-year-old manchild, who lives at home in his parents’ basement. His days are filled with video games and take-out pizza. Suddenly, he disappears with a flash, awakening in a forest clearing with no idea how he got there.
The game’s control scheme steals the show, and it is this that you will spend the majority of the game grappling with. Rather than using the traditional left thumb stick to move Nate around, players have to carefully move the left and right sticks in order to move forward.
Each stick independently controls a leg, and for the first 30 minutes, I kept falling on my face, trying to coordinate both sticks so Nate could walk more than a few steps without falling flat – hence the name Baby Steps.
This meant overcoming muscle memory formed over 20 years of gaming, and I suspect others will face the same challenge. However, I was soon on the move and enjoying the sights and sounds of Baby Steps’ game world.
Eventually, I got used to the controls, and soon I was navigating hills and even scaling mountains to complete the game. Along the way, Nate encounters a series of physics-based puzzles, which, chances are, will make you rage-quit.
This is also where the fun happens, using the game’s unique controls to get Nate to climb a mountain or sidestep an obstacle, only to flail hilariously to the ground when you make a misstep (and you will).
Your patience will be tested, as Nate is unable to run and can only walk. While that may sound limiting at first, the more I stuck with it, the more I began to appreciate the game.
If you love physics-based games and have the patience for them, then Baby Steps is for you. However, if action is more your style, I would recommend moving on because this game may not satisfy you.
