Fittingly enough, the team behind Baby Steps is treading cautiously. The walking simulator was previously scheduled to arrive on PS5 and Steam on September 8, but Hollow Knight: Silksong’s imminent release date of September 4 prompted publisher Devolver Digital (and developers Bennett Foddy, Gabe Cuzzillo and Maxi Boch) to delay their game until September 23.
They made the announcement with the help of a funny clip that sees Baby Steps protagonist Nate trying to scale a replica of Silksong’s Hornet only to inevitably tumble into the dirt. “Nate, the wary, onesie-donned failson at the heart of the eccentric adventure in literal walking simulator Baby Steps, has stumbled after attempting to ascend his greatest challenge yet: launching the week after Hollow Knight: Silksong’s surprise release date,” Devolver said in a press release.
Baby Steps is a sort-of spiritual successor to Foddy’s classic, rage-inducing QWOP, in that you take granular control over Nate’s legs to help him climb a mountain. I’ve been looking forward to the full game — especially after enjoying the silliness of the demo — but I don’t mind waiting a couple of extra weeks for it.
Several other indie developers and publishers have delayed their games to avoid getting swallowed up by the Silksong discourse. The horror-tinged, slot machine-based roguelite CloverPit and tactics RPG Demonshool have moved from September 3 to September 26 and November 19, respectively, while the 1.0 version of adventure RPG Faeland and a Metroidvania called Aeterna Lucis no longer have firm release dates. However, Bloober Team is staying the course with Cronos: The New Dawn, which is still set for September 5, and Rogue Factor is doing the same with Hell is Us (September 4).
These delays are reminiscent of reports that publishers and developers were putting off any fall release date announcements for their games for fear of getting crushed by Grand Theft Auto VI, which was supposed to be dropping by the end of the year. Rockstar has delayed its game until May but Devlover says it’s not running scared of that particular blockbuster — it has committed to releasing a game on the same day as GTA VI. However, Silksong perhaps seems like just too formidable an opponent for Baby Steps.
