New game Baby Steps is toddling onto PS5 in 2024, and it just made my must-play list. The game is simple, guide a man in his underwear across a landscape of obstacles, with a unique physics-based control system.
The best PS5 games always deliver something a little different, and Baby Steps is right up there; if Jim Carrey made Death Stranding it would look something like Baby Steps. Developed by Gabe Cuzzillo, Bennett Foddy and Maxi Boch, the game's protagonist, Nate, is controlled by moving either leg independently.
"Our literalist and humorous control scheme allows you to manually steer each of Nate’s steps with the DualSense controller, from individually lifting each foot to choosing where to place them down," writes Boch on the PlayStation Blog. He adds: "Careful where you place it though! Each surface is physically simulated, so try not to lose your footing as you guide Nate step-by-step through a multitude of wild terrain-based challenges."
Manually steer each of Nate’s steps with the DualSense controller
Maxi Boch
Baby Steps is a clever puzzle game that uses a unique control setup and UX to make every movement, flailing leg and well-placed foot a test if nerves and skill. The demo revealed at Sony's September State of Play shows how those first tentative steps soon evolve into a " hypnotic rhythm of the hike," writes Boch. It looks so unique and fun.
The sense of peculiar whimsy of Baby Steps is anchored in its story setup; Nate has been whisked away into an unknown realm to save the day, but it appears the powers that be chose the wrong guy; Nate just wants to lounge in his parent's basement and can literally not walk properly.
Take a look at the new screens below, and if you've yet to get one, read my PlayStation 5 review to see why this console is so good and take a look at the best PS5 deals available at the moment.
