[…]Baby Steps’ title may sound like an infantalising putdown of its protagonist, but in this era of Dualshock uniformity, it is genuinely wonderful to learn to walk “for the first time”. Especially in the context of an open world game, a genre that prides frictionless exploration like few others. There are glowing waypoints on the skyline, but you can’t just zip along the obvious routes. You have to study what’s underfoot and organise your mass accordingly, and when you fall, it’s at once ludicrous and frustrating and a source of connection.

You notice how certain helpful rocks snag at Nate’s limbs, stopping him rolling too far. You see how he catches himself on his elbows as he slides, a tentative advertisement for having some degree of survival instinct. You appreciate the torquing of his spine as he bumps and slithers, and you feel the smaller, context-sensitive adjustments to what the controls do - the little, evolving motions that are presumably far too thoughtless and subtle to be offered up in a tutorial.