When does difficulty become un-fun? Dev says their game has moments of "intentional bulls***" but the trick to difficulty is making the player feel it's their fault they failed

Baby Steps.

We said in our Baby Steps review that this bizarre, very literal walking sim can be brutal, uneven, and disheartening, yet it still scored pretty highly because of its surprising world, excellent walking mechanic, and the satisfaction baked into its difficulty. The game is, knowingly and confidently, divisive. And it has found its audience, reviewing solidly across the board and especially on Steam.

Last month, I spoke to veteran designer Gabe Cuzzillo, joined by Bennett Foddy and Maxi Boch on the Baby Steps development team, about the nature of difficulty in games. The interview serendipitously landed smack in the middle of Hollow Knight: Silksong launch fever, with millions of players getting curb-stomped by Team Cherry's vicious little game and pondering the fickle scales of difficulty.