Baby Steps, the new title from the creators of Ape Out, is out now on PlayStation 5 and Windows PC. Before you begin, the game presents an initial option: it warns that it includes explicit nudity and offers a toggle to disable those scenes.
To be clear, that warning is warranted. Baby Steps features frequent, full-frontal male nudity — characters are shown unclothed, including exposed genitals, in multiple sequences throughout the adventure.
Early in the game, protagonist Nate dozes beside a campfire and awakens to find a donkey-like humanoid seated nearby. The character is unclothed, with his anatomy clearly visible at eye level, and the moment plays for awkward comedy as Nate struggles not to stare. The scene reads like a broad R‑rated gag but also sets the tone for how the game treats its subject matter.
Image: Devolver Digital via PolygonNate later meets additional donkey‑folk who request his help with a quest to save their world — and they, too, appear unclothed. The persistent presence of exposed anatomy is central enough that it’s hard to ignore; if you’re familiar with Devolver Digital’s history of provocative indie releases, it’s reminiscent — in tone and intent — of titles like Genital Jousting.
This isn’t written to discourage play — far from it — but as a practical note for streamers and parents: the nudity warning is not merely perfunctory. Streamers should consider whether to enable the toggle, and parents may want to be mindful of where and when children might approach the screen. It’s useful to know what the experience contains before you start.
Image: Devolver Digital via PolygonFor many players, leaving the nudity toggle enabled is advisable: the exposure isn’t gratuitous shock value but a deliberate narrative device. Baby Steps is, at its core, a story about masculinity and self‑image. Nate — an underachieving everyman transported to an unfamiliar realm — must confront anxieties about his body and worthiness as a hero. The unclothed donkey characters make those abstract insecurities literal, repeatedly confronting him with a conventional, performative version of masculinity that he must reckon with.
I appreciate how the game treats male nudity as a storytelling element rather than a taboo. Representations of unclothed men remain rare outside arthouse cinema and niche indies, and given ongoing debates over adult content on digital storefronts, it feels notable when a visible indie title leans into nudity to explore character and theme rather than simply to provoke.
Source: Polygon
