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Baby Steps Makes Walking a Hilariously Frustrating Journey

You’ll laugh and you’ll cry in this bizarrely engaging platformer.

Baby Steps has quickly become one of the funniest games I’ve ever played, but it’s also made me almost throw my controller against the wall. It’s the latest game from masochistic developer Bennett Foddy, known for extremely challenging games like Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy and QWOP, where simply moving becomes a Herculean task. He’s teamed up with Gabe Cuzzillo and Maxi Boch, developers of the frantic action game Ape Out, to make this unique and bizarre platformer.

In Baby Steps, you play as Nate, a man in his late twenties who still lives in his parents’ basement until he’s magically teleported into a strange, mostly empty wilderness. There’s only one real mechanic to the game — walking — but it’s nowhere near as simple as taking a leisurely stroll. You control each of Nate’s legs individually with your controller’s triggers. The left trigger lifts the left foot; the right trigger lifts the right, and you have to use the analog stick to lean Nate forward and plant a foot down to move. It takes a long time to feel comfortable moving like this. 

I found myself constantly getting into a groove and making good progress before eventually thinking too much about my motor controls and completely losing rhythm. When (not if) that happened, I’d usually topple over in comical fashion, then have to slowly work my way back up to regain a good flow state.

If this wasn’t hard enough, as you move along, you’re tasked with harder and slipperier obstacles to painstakingly traverse. Walking was already a tall order; now try climbing a set of stairs, walking across a ladder or scaling a muddy slope. Time and again, I’d slowly climb a mountain only to reach a rushing river with slick rocks to cross — then slip and watch Nate tumble all the way back down. Baby Steps offers no sympathy.

All this awkward movement is made even funnier by your character’s goofy look: Nate wears a gray, pajama-like onesie that picks up odd stains and sweat marks as you tumble through the world. He also has no shoes and a sizable rear end that wobbles and sways as you attempt the difficult platforming sections. It’s funny and silly to see, and it helps soften some of the devastating setbacks you inevitably encounter on your climb. 

The tough traversal is paired with some of the funniest writing and performances I’ve seen in a video game. Along the way, Nate occasionally runs into other people — or strange animal-human hybrids — scattered throughout the environment. They’re all quite friendly, but Nate suffers from crippling social anxiety and is incapable of asking for help, making for amusingly awkward chatter. The voice actors riff off each other so naturally that it feels like they must have recorded together in the booth. The humor has a Tim and Eric: Awesome Show, Great Job! vibe, with characters stuttering, mumbling and trading bizarre — yet hilarious — facial expressions.

These interactions aren’t required to progress through the game, but can be found hidden around the map. As you explore the world, slowly and step by step, it’s worth scanning the horizon for strange landmarks or structures. Reaching them often yields a reward — maybe a quirky hat for Nate (finish an area while wearing it and you’ll unlock a short playable section with backstory from his life), or a funny encounter with another character. Baby Steps encourages you to wander off the main path, but it makes you work for every discovery.

Developer Cuzzilo’s game Ape Out (which Bennett contributed to as an artist) was known for a frenetic, jazz-inspired soundtrack composed by Boch, and we see some of that inspiration with the team working on Baby Steps. Much of the game’s music is sparse and percussive. It includes a lot of nature effects, such as wind, dog barks and cricket chirps, to emphasize the lost-in-the-wilderness aspect to the game. It works very well to mimic the state of the character and the player. You’ll often find yourself carefully positioning your feet along a thin plank of wood overlooking a cliff while this jazz-like chirping soundscape surrounds you, which is surreal yet somehow fitting.

If you’ve played any of Foddy’s notoriously difficult past games (QWOP or Getting Over It, for example), you should know that Baby Steps is easier. There is a challenge, but you can choose how much you want to engage with it. Staying on the main path is much friendlier than attempting to climb a rope swing to get that odd, glowing fruit that might get you bonus dialogue. That’s to say that past experience with his games shouldn’t scare you away from trying out Baby Steps. The hilarious cutscenes are an absolute treat and made me want to risk all my progress in hopes of getting to watch another. There’s a lot of laughs and frustration to be had here, and the low $20 price makes it that much easier to recommend.

Baby Steps is out now for PC and PlayStation 5.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter. 

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.


Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS

5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW

6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE

7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD

8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE

9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS

2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS

3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART

4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES

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Watch SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test 11

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