The Master of Misery Returns: Baby Steps’ Open World is a Hilariously Brutal Ode to Failure and Physics

From the warped minds that gave the world the legendary rage-bait classics QWOP and Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, the new physics-based adventure, Baby Steps, has emerged as 2025’s most brutally comedic open-world experience. Published by Devolver Digital and developed by a trio of notorious pain-inducers—Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, and the aforementioned Bennett Foddy—this game takes the most fundamental of human actions, walking, and transforms it into an arduous, laugh-out-loud odyssey of embarrassing failure. This is not just a game; it’s a profound, absurd reflection on modern inadequacy delivered via gloriously punishing gameplay.

The Agony of the Walk: Physics as the Ultimate Comedian

The core mechanic of Baby Steps is what makes it so uniquely frustrating and funny. You play as Nate, a 35-year-old, unemployed “failson” who is suddenly transported to a surreal, mountainous wilderness. Nate is clad in a dirt-collecting onesie and has no shoes, and your task is to guide him up a giant mountain by manually controlling each of his legs.

• Independent Leg Control: Instead of holding a stick to walk, you control Nate’s right and left legs independently using the controller’s triggers. The pressure and timing of these presses dictate the height and length of the step, and the analog stick is used for leaning and balance. This counter-intuitive system is the engine of the game’s comedy.
• The Ragdoll Retribution: A slight misstep—a foot placed too low, a heel caught on a minuscule rock, or an overzealous lean—results in Nate instantly losing all motor control. The sheer, unadulterated ragdoll physics that follow are the game’s signature comedy. He doesn’t just fall; he tumbles, flops, slides, and cartwheels down steep slopes, all his hard-won progress evaporating in a matter of seconds.
• Dynamic Soilage System: Furthering the slapstick humor is the “fully dynamic onesie soilage system.” Every tumble, every slide down a muddy embankment, adds new, unsightly stains to Nate’s pajamas. The more you fail, the more pathetic (and hilarious) he looks, compounding the comedic effect of your misery.

The developers have meticulously engineered a scenario where success is fleeting and failure is both frequent and profoundly undignified. It is the perfect blend of masochistic game design and physical comedy, making players simultaneously scream in rage and howl with laughter as Nate’s substantial, wobbly rear end slides uncontrollably down a sheer cliff face.

The Open World of Absurdity: Rewarding Painful Exploration

Unlike its famously linear predecessors, Baby Steps is an open-world hiking simulator. The landscape itself is a character, a bizarre, increasingly hostile environment that constantly tests your newly acquired, delicate motor skills. The mountain is an interwoven maze of treacherous terrain, from slippery frozen lakes that force you to master balance to sandy deserts where the ground itself works against you.

• No Map, No Markers: The open world rejects modern Gaming conventions. There is no mini-map, no fast travel, and no objective markers—only the mountain, your onesie-clad protagonist, and a subtle guide provided by glowing campsites in the distance. This lack of hand-holding forces players to truly engage with the environment, picking their own painstaking routes.
• Hidden Gags and Bizarre Encounters: The world is packed with optional, difficult-to-reach areas that reward you with the game’s brilliantly absurd writing and strange characters. Stumbling across a crumbling stone tower or navigating a tricky rope swing might lead to an encounter with an Australian-accented donkey-man hybrid or a wonderfully awkward cutscene. The humor in these moments is a surreal, sometimes dark, blend of physical comedy and cringey social realism, often touching on Nate’s isolation and crippling social anxiety.
• The Lure of Collectibles: Optional collectibles, like hats, encourage off-the-beaten-path exploration. Reaching a silly hat at the top of a near-impossible climb provides a small, tangible reward, but the subsequent challenge—beating the next area without losing the hat in a tumble—is a developer-mandated form of self-inflicted high-value challenge.

This design philosophy—where every optional path is significantly harder but promises a new layer of absurdity—makes the world an irresistible trap. The open nature of the game allows players to choose their own level of frustration, yet the gravitational pull of the hidden, high-conversion gags often sees players risking hours of progress for a single laugh.

A Meaningful Descent into Failure

While the game is undeniably hilarious, underneath the slapstick and ragdoll lies a deeper, more poignant narrative. Baby Steps is fundamentally a game about growth, self-discovery, and overcoming the inertia of a wasted life. Nate’s physical struggle to put one foot in front of the other is a metaphor for his emotional journey. The developers of this Indie Game have crafted a truly unique experience that manages to use the most devastating failure as the foundation for the most rewarding, and funniest, kind of success.

For those who value a truly unconventional Open-World Game and possess the patience for a mechanical challenge that will repeatedly destroy them in the most embarrassing ways imaginable, Baby Steps offers a comedic masterpiece that is impossible to forget.