Baby Steps: The Ultimate Troll or Pure Genius? Developers Unleash a Secret Ending for the Chronically Impatient
AI Gaming News Author · Game Rant ·
In a brilliant act of meta-game design, *Baby Steps* rewards players who skip every single one of its cutscenes with a secret 28-minute 'behind-the-scenes' chat between the game's voice actors/developers, turning player impatience into a uniquely intimate and hilarious experience.
Right, so I’ve been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. You know how some games try to pull you into their world with grand narratives and cinematic cutscenes, right? And then there's *Baby Steps*, which apparently decided to take a completely different, gloriously unhinged path. It’s like they built a perfectly sensible house, then added a secret room accessible only by crawling through the plumbing, just because they could.
For those who haven't stumbled into its peculiar charm yet, *Baby Steps* – which sauntered onto PlayStation 5 and PC back in September – isn't your typical button-mashing, action-packed thrill ride. Oh no, mate. This is a game where the very act of walking is the main event. Developed by the delightfully quirky minds of Bennett Foddy, Gabe Cuzzillo, and Maxi Boch (with Devolver Digital as the benevolent enablers), *Baby Steps* is, quite literally, a walking simulator. You control each of protagonist Nate's legs individually, meaning every single step is a deliberate, often clumsy, act of will. It’s awkward by design, a beautiful, frustrating dance of balance where a wrong move can send you tumbling into a minor or major setback.
Now, here’s where it gets properly interesting. As players have been meticulously (or perhaps just accidentally) navigating Nate's wobbly journey through its open world, someone, a true digital archaeologist named Cuttyflame on YouTube, unearthed a secret that’s less of an Easter egg and more of an entire Easter Island. This isn't just a hidden collectible or a cheeky developer message. We're talking about a full-blown, 28-minute-long secret cutscene that you can *only* unlock by doing something most players actively try to avoid: skipping *every single other cutscene* in the game.
Think about that for a second. Most games treat cutscene skipping as a necessary evil, a fast-forward button for the impatient or the replay-minded. But *Baby Steps* has apparently been reading our digital tea leaves and decided to flip the script, daring us to be utterly disrespectful to their artistic efforts, only to reward us with... more artistic effort. It’s an act of comedic genius, isn’t it? Like telling your mate, "Go on, ignore everything I say, and I'll tell you the secret to the universe."
So, how does this bizarre reward manifest? Once you’ve successfully – and let’s be clear, it’s not just a casual 'press X to skip' situation, you have to engage in little mini-games to actually bypass these narrative moments, adding another layer of cheeky effort to the 'disrespect' – made it to the very end of the game having ignored all previous cinematic offerings, Nate and his companion Moose pop up. And, true to form, they immediately call you out. Nate, voiced by Gabe Cuzzillo, quite rightly observes that you’re probably going to skip *this* one too, noting with mock disappointment that "it's not very respectful." Which, fair dinkum, it isn’t! But then, instead of fading to credits, the characters drop their personas entirely.
What follows is a truly meta, wonderfully human conversation between Gabe Cuzzillo (the voice of Nate) and Bennett Foddy (the voice of Moose). They sit down, in character, but quickly slide into an unscripted, almost podcast-like discussion about the realities of voice acting, the sheer amount of work that goes into those scenes we so often impatiently bypass. They riff on reasons why someone might skip cutscenes – perhaps they’ve played before, maybe they’ve got little rugrats sitting nearby. Foddy even playfully suggests that Cuzzillo himself is the biggest cutscene skipper he knows, a bit of karma for the voice actor. Cuzzillo, with delightful defensiveness, clarifies he *wouldn't* skip a Naughty Dog game or *Ghost of Tsushima*.
The chemistry between these two developer-actors is palpable and incredibly engaging. It’s a genuine, unvarnished peek behind the curtain, a moment of authentic interaction that feels leagues away from the usual polished PR speak we gamers are so often fed. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel like you’re eavesdropping on a creative session, not just playing a game. This secret cutscene isn't just a gag; it's a statement. It’s an acknowledgment of player habits, a playful subversion of expectations, and a testament to the idea that games can – and should – do more than just follow established formulas.
What *Baby Steps* has done here is genuinely innovative, and it speaks volumes about the creative freedom Devolver Digital often grants its developers. Instead of fighting against player behaviour, they’ve embraced it, turning a common player tendency into the very key for a unique, meta-narrative experience. It's a clever observation on their part – that the 'disrespect' of skipping is itself a form of engagement, a choice that, in this case, leads to an unexpected, intimate reward.
It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? What other gaming conventions could be twisted and turned to create such genuinely surprising moments? This isn't about revolutionary graphics or a new blockchain integration (thankfully, this particular magic trick requires no crypto tokens). It's about clever design, human connection, and a healthy dose of self-awareness. It’s proof that sometimes, the most revolutionary claims come from the simplest, most human insights.
So, if you’ve got a bit of patience (or ironically, a lot of impatience for all the *other* cutscenes), you might just find that this oddball walking simulator has more heart, more wit, and more genuine surprise than many of its blockbuster counterparts. *Baby Steps* is proving to be a truly unique experience, daring players to interact with its world, and its developers, in the most unconventional of ways. And honestly, mate, that’s just brilliant.
This absolutely bonkers story comes courtesy of Matthew O’Dwyer over at Game Rant, who first reported on Cuttyflame's discovery. Credit where credit's due for spotting this digital wizardry!
Tags: Baby Steps, Game Design, Easter Eggs, Indie Games, Meta-Narrative
Original article: Game Rant