Baby Steps designers placed disappointing can stacks — all reachable but one

One of the best games of 2025, Baby Steps adopts a design philosophy that runs counter to careful playtesting. Co-creator Gabe Cuzzillo says he is drawn to "Indifference to the player."

The game fills its world with climbing challenges and deliberately discourages treasure hunting, making collectibles disappointing or absent. A character warns there is nothing at the top of a torturous tower, and if you reach it—which can take hours—the warning is true.

Piles of cans are the clearest expression of that idea. "All you can do is kick them over, and they're not even very satisfying," Cuzzillo said. Every stack could be reached, Cuzzillo noted—except for one.

Watching players fail to reach that lone unreachable stack initially caused him anxiety, but he later found "something beautiful" in how an impossible challenge pushed people to try new approaches.

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