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Baby Steps would be a very easy game to dislike.

On first appearances, it looks like one of those asinine rage-bait games that has nothing valuable to say. It stars a character who's bumbling, nervous, and out of shape. The visuals are, to put it one way, on the ugly side.

The truth is that this is one of those rage games, but it's one that offers a meaningful narrative thread to follow along with its vast number of tough but satisfying challenges.

You play as Nate, an unemployed 35-year-old man living in his parents' basement. As he listens to them argue about his lackadaisical lifestyle, the TV glitches out, and he's suddenly transported to another realm — one where he's forced to pick himself up and move forward.

That's where you come in. You have complete analogue control of Nate's lower limbs; the left and right triggers lift his respective legs, while you use the left stick to position the raised foot.

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It's one of those purposely tricky control schemes that makes the game much more of a challenge, and makes for some amusing falls and failures as an added bonus.

And that's something you have to be comfortable with going into this game — you will fail, you will lose progress after one bad move, and you will want to give up. However, that's kind of the point.

As with Bennett Foddy's notoriously difficult PC game Getting Over It, Baby Steps is a game about patience and perseverance. It'll test both of these virtues as you ascend an enormous mountain, and while we certainly did become frustrated at times, it made the sense of achievement and satisfaction when we conquered a tricky climb or obstacle that much better.

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Your main goal, as mentioned, is a long walk up the mountain, but this is an open world setting. Though some spots can feel a little barren, there are many interesting landmarks and alternate routes to discover if you take the time to explore.

An early example is in the game's first chapter. Walk along far enough and you'll discover the ruins of a carnival, where optional challenges await.

You can find additional objectives on each tier of the mountain. They're basically all the same — you need to find a specific object and carry it to the nearest fire tower — but they're clever, in that they make your ascent that little bit harder, in a sense.

While carrying one of these items, you might drop it when you fall down, and if they end up in a tough spot, you'll need to try and retrieve it, potentially taking you off-course. It's pretty brutal.

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A little more substantial are the hats you can also find in hard-to-reach places during your journey. While they serve no gameplay functionality at all (save for one), they actually uncover some interesting narrative details if you're wearing one when you reach a campfire — a point in the climb where one chapter ends and the next begins.

We don't want to spoil these moments, but they offer more insight on Nate and his family, making them quite valuable things if you're curious about the story.

Every now and then, cutscenes will punctuate the game, whether at set points in the ascent or at entirely optional locations.

These introduce a handful of whacky characters, including Jim, a guide who quickly loses patience with Nate's ineptitude, and Mike, an enthusiastic fellow hiker who's inexplicably much better equipped.

The cutscenes are pretty amusing thanks to improvised dialogue that serves to emphasise Nate's awkwardness and inability to communicate. Again, we don't want to spoil anything, but the further the game goes on, the more we felt for the character, who's clearly struggling on several levels.

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That's not to say this is a particularly serious game; far from it. For every serious moment there are many more that are surreal or just plain ridiculous, whether that's hills that turn out to be lactating breasts or a man selling ice cream in the worst possible location.

It's also worth pointing out the music, which sort of isn't music. There are moments with no soundtrack at all, but often the game will kick in with tunes composed entirely of ambient noises. Birdsong, footsteps, crickets, dripping water — it's not toe-tapping stuff, but it supplies the adventure with a really unique sound that only builds on its madcap nature.

We haven't said a whole lot about the main quest of walking up the mountain with Nate's manually-controlled legs, but that's because it's one of those games you should experience fresh.

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Each segment of the mountain has its own aesthetics, challenges, and points of interest, and there's real joy (and dismay) to be found in discovering it all for yourself.

Having said that, mileage will vary on this game perhaps more than any other we've played in recent memory. How much you enjoy Baby Steps will depend on your tolerance for its unorthodox dialogue, intentionally maddening gameplay, and willingness to test your patience.

For us, we relished it all. We love that there are optional areas we were forced to give up on, items and hats we had to abandon, and scenes we've probably yet to see, despite finishing it twice.

There are a few nitpicks; the game certainly has some rough edges, with a couple of odd bugs and occasional crashes over the course of maybe 20 hours or so.

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It may seem like a superficial, gimmicky game at first blush, but there's real heart in the narrative and hilariously off-kilter fun to be had poking around in this obscure world. It certainly isn't for everyone, but those that relish a challenge and don't mind things getting a little kooky will find a lot to like.

Conclusion

Baby Steps is more than it first appears, offering up a heartfelt story about a man grappling with his insecurities as he's forced to keep going. The intentionally tricky walking and climbing is a lot of fun to grapple with, and there's plenty of silly stuff to discover in the open world setting. Your mileage may vary due to various factors, not least the amount of punishment you'll take as you scramble up the mountain, but it's a journey worth taking for those willing to persist.