Review: Baby Steps Is an Approachable Bennett Foddy Game

A lot of Bennett Foddy games can seem deceptively simple, but quickly put some people off due to how difficult they can be to truly succeed. Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy is a great example, but the difficulty of VVVVVV and execution in entries like QWOP and CLOP could make them difficult to play for most people for long periods of time. Baby Steps sees him reuniting with Gabe Cuzzillo and Maxi Boch for a game along the lines of QWOP that feels approachable, delightful, and even meaningful. It'll still absolutely smack you down, especially if you feel like you "mastered" certain skills and terrain types. But I found it easier to bounce back here than in past games.

Nate is not doing great. He lives with his parents. He spends most of his time watching TV or playing games. His social skills aren’t good, and it seems like he isn’t the best at taking initiative. One day, while he’s doing his thing, he finds himself teleported to another place, dropped in a pool in a cave. From there, we help him find his way walking through the wilderness, doing things like finding hats and toilets along the way. Of course, there are also the campfires, which feel like poignant messages and insights into his psyche and development. But the incidental activities and surprising “quests” you can happen upon can feel just as fulfilling.

Baby Steps is another Bennett Foddy style physics game with deceptively simple controls. The triggers will make Nate lift his left or right legs, and you move the left analog stick to control how far forward, backward, left, and right he moves with each step. Depending on the angle and presses, Nate could walk leisurely along flat surfaces or even sort of gradually scale more steeper structures or landscapes. Different types of terrain work differently, such as standard grass or pavement, wet ground, sand, or actual ponds and streams. This means it is very easy for the environment to influence our control over Nate, as well as Nate and his momentum to affect certain items around him.

Which, as you can guess, is what makes Baby Steps feel so satisfying and entertaining. Our initial task is pretty easy. Walk out of a cave. Things gradually get more difficult. Find a way around a locked gate keeping us from a different area. Reach a toilet that Nate can actually use to relieve himself. I think the game feels like a mixture of QWOP and Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy most of the time, since we’ll need to complete a certain objective, have the tools and perhaps even the skills to do it, but the timing, layout of the world around us, and sometimes even a little luck regarding positioning and precision will determine if we manage to push forward. 

Screenshots by Siliconera

Now, I never beat Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, as that game absolutely beat me instead. It infuriated me sometimes. With Baby Steps there are times that it will get me down, but it feels more fleeting. The combination of the controls and approachability that allows us to explore other options for certain situations made it feel less daunting. Like if I didn’t have luck with one approach, maybe I try something else? Things like mud, sand, and ice absolutely suck, of course, as does the final area. But I really feel like if you spend enough time controlling Nate, you pick up skills that make things feel more manageable. Also, due to the way things are broken up and spaced out, I didn't feel like I lost as much progress here as I did at times in Getting Over It.

I don’t know if it also is due to the fantastic soundtrack, where the sounds of nature around Nate begin to pipe up into a symphony once you find a rhythm, get going, and make substantial progress, but I found it easier to find a good groove. The control scheme meant if I found a relatively flat or slightly angled trail for a spell, I could even almost get him up to a solid sprint. And even if a portion of the mountain or an area looks too intimidating to climb, I suspect it could be possible. There were times I somehow managed to work my way up some unwelcoming spots by moving carefully, taking my time, and really playing around with footholds. 

Baby Steps also features some unexpectedly fun incidental changes in Nate as we play. For example, we can find a hat! I did it! It ended up ruining my life for a bit, since I was determined to keep it and it would very likely fall off when he’d fall. At one point it fell off when I got across a river with waterfall. I stepped wrong after getting across, and it fell off. I pressed A to retrieve it, and the way Nate bent meant he went too close to the water when he got it. Nate and the hat went cascading down with the flow, and I never saw that hat again. Cursed. Also, he’ll get dirty if you fall a bunch and you’ll see sweat stains form if you manage to maintain a good stride for a long period. Head to a cold area, and that will be reflected too.

Images via Devolver Digital

It is also blatantly and intentionally hilarious. Some of it is toilet humor. (Literally and figuratively.) It's the funniest game I've played this year. Putting up with all the frustration is worth it when you make it to certain NPCs, animals, or items.

I’ve been primarily playing Baby Steps on a handheld gaming PC (Lenovo Legion Go), and it works perfectly on it. It looks fantastic. There’s no lag when walking. The controller support is wonderful. Support for Steam Deck style devices is great, and it felt just as solid here as it did on an actual PC. 

Baby Steps is yet another example of a Bennett Foddy game that can test you, frustrate you, and make you laugh at the silliest situations.. The controls are fantastic, so it feels like they never fail you. The types of terrain and situations can be goofy and challenging. At the same time, there’s a message about growth and development that comes through that made me feel like I wasn’t just having an absolute ball flailing my way through strange spaces, but learning more about Nate and rooting for him in the process. 

Baby Steps is available for the PS5 and PC. 

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