It’s easy to take muscle memory for granted. You don’t even have to think about a well-practiced action to get it done, the body just does the work while you think in general terms about the fine details. Driving, holding utensils, the controller layout on a favorite game; once you’ve got the motions down, auto-pilot takes care of the fine details so you may focus on other things. One of the most basic, of course, is walking, with what are actually incredible feats of balance performed so casually that there’s just no wonder left in it any more. I am here, the fridge is there and the only thought in my head during travel between the two is whether to grab a soda or be good and get water instead. It would take a whole lot of couch-hours to become bad at walking, so it’s concerning that the man-child inBaby Stepshas become so bad at it.
These Feets Are Made For Walking, That’s Just What They’ll Do
Baby Stepsis, literally, a walking simulator, a game about simulating the act of walking. Mid-thirties loser Nate is stuck in his parents' basement getting stoned and watching One Piece alone (that’s what the manga is for, the show is best watched socially) when he’s pulled into his TV and suddenly he needs to start moving all by himself. A friendly guide greets him on arrival, but it doesn’t go well due to Nate having sunk all his skill points into Awkward. Passing up the opportunity for an explanation or even shoes, Nate and his onesie head out to see what this weird place has to offer. Aside from endless faceplants due to a complete inability to manage his feet, that is.
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As might be guessed seeing as this is a game from Bennet Foddy, best known forQWOPandGetting Over It(and also Gabe Cuzillo and Maxi Boch of the fantasticApe Out),Baby Stepsis a game about mastering a control scheme that’s as awkward as it is precise once you’ve figured it out. The game is strongly recommended for a controller, with the left and right analog triggers used to raise the respective foot. The left analog stick controls Nate’s lean when standing still or foot position when one is raised,, while the right is for direction when moving and the traditional camera view when standing still. To walk you need to coordinate them all and it takes a good amount of practice to do more than fall down every other step.
TheBaby Stepsdemo is the first chapter of the game and it can be completed quickly if all you want to do is walk straight up the path to the goal. The starting area is a relatively harmless canyon with a mostly-flat path leading out, and once through, there’s an obvious goal up a hill that’s not too far away. That would be missing the point of Nate’s newfound walking skills, though, because the world extends every which way and has secrets to find, not to mention people for Nate to interact awkwardly with. Seeing as this is a game about walking and every control in it is specifically foot-oriented, with no Activate button or anything for Nate’s hands to do, it also becomes hard to resist finding the most difficult path to the next point of interest.
Baby Stepsis a game about mastering a control scheme that’s as awkward as it is precise once you’ve figured it out.
The gray, wet landscape doesn’t look that interesting at first, but secrets aren’t all that secret if they’ve got a big shiny sparkle all but screaming Look At Me! You’ll need to look around to find what’s there, and while some encounters like a shoe salesman are right out in the open once you leave the path, others are going to take some figuring out. “Return the cup to the fire tower” seems easy enough, and the wagon with the bright white word “CUP” painted on it isn’t all that subtle, but figuring out how to actually get where it’s stashed is a challenge that’ll be fun to watch the experts attempt.
Baby Stepsis the kind of game that looks simple but hides its blackened evil heart behind a strong sense of (that word again) awkward humor and approachable main goals. Clearing the demo’s first chapter doesn’t take too long the first time and even less time once you’ve got a feel for the walking mechanics, except at that point you’re also looking around and realizing there’s a large, weird area to explore and that even something as simple as walking over rocks or up a slightly muddy incline can be an interesting challenge. The controls are tricky enough that simply walking across a field can result in multiple falls, but precise enough to cross a thin beam, placing one foot directly in front of the other while maintaining Nate’s balance. TheBaby Stepsdemo shows off a game that’s equal parts tricky, approachable, brutally difficult and almost always incredibly funny. It’s hard to say where Nate’s bare feet and uncomfortably revealing onesie will take him next, but it’s promising to be an interestingly awkward walk every step of the way there.
Baby Steps
