There is a style of game design built around rigorous playtesting and polish, aiming to smoothly guide the player from one challenge to the next, ensuring they never get hung up for too long or become too frustrated by an obstacle they can’t overcome. And then there’s Baby Steps.
One of the best games of 2025, Baby Steps embodies an element of game design that co-creator Gabe Cuzzillo is drawn to: “Indifference to the player.”
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That sentiment eventually fueled the design of Baby Steps, a game of climbing challenges that actively tried to wean players off seeking out its videogamey “collectibles” and making the rewards for them disappointing, or outright nonexistent. When you reach a torturous tower, a character warns you there’s nothing at the top of it, and if you reach the top—which will normally take hours—it turns out to be true. The piles of cans that dot the world are the ultimate expression of this idea. “All you can do is kick them over, and they’re not even very satisfying,” Cuzzillo said.
All of the can stacks ultimately could be reached, Cuzzillo said—except for one. Watching people try everything they could to reach the one unreachable stack initially filled him with anxiety, but Cuzzillo later felt there was “something beautiful” about the way the impossible challenge pushed players to try new things.
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