An interesting aspect of the design of Steppy Pants is that it only tends to change the level you’re playing in intermittently. By starting the player each time with the same level, but at their latest checkpoint, the game is able to A) quickly load up a new session almost instantly, and B) allow the player to continue practicing with the game’s unusual control scheme unabated.
Summary: Step on a crack and you’ll break your own back. It’s the stepping sensation that’s sweeping the nation so gather round and step on down.
Overall: For a free to play mobile title, Steppy Pants turns a novel concept into a satisfying pick up and play experience. I’d highly recommend giving this game a shot.
Steppy Pants is a super simple game. Each tap moves a foot forward while you’re holding it. You automatically alternate feet between taps. You use this simple system to walk forward to the next checkpoint building up combos on the way. Your combo breaks if you stop moving for too long or have both feet on the same step able platform.
The game has 6 modes. Traditional Steppy Streets is the main mode. You’ll need to progress a certain distance before you unlock other modes. As I said in the description you need to avoid the cracks while stepping, but the blocks of sidewalk are not uniform in size, and some are even TNT. You’ll also need to step across blocks in ponds and occasionally cross streets. Checkpoints are pretty common, but getting high scores is a bit more difficult. If you’ve made it past a new checkpoint without falling coffee shows up in your path that will speed you up meaning you need faster taps for that small precision movement.
Floor is Lava Mode has you stepping across furniture in a hellish wasteland where the floor is indeed lava. The size of furniture varies greatly and while TNT is gone, instead some blocks will crumble if you stay on them too long and you might need to time your steps to avoid lava geysers. Checkpoints are hard to reach here, but the rewards are doubled here as well.
Haunted Woods has no cracks to worry about. Everywhere is safe to step and even stepping super wide can’t stop you. The only thing to fear is the monster chasing you. Of course you might want to avoid the webbing on the floor that will slow you down. This mode is a bit too simple. It’s all about speed and precision, but another mode does it better.
Snowy Hills has you walking across roofs collecting presents. Checkpoints are insanely fast to reach. The trick here is your feet. Presents are on the left and right of the roof and you need to step with the corresponding foot to grab it and keep the combo up. Ice on the roof follows a similar pattern of being on one side or the other, and of course the roof panels are split by cracks you better not step on. Trying to find a balance between collecting presents for combos and avoiding ice is a different experience from the other modes.
I do not like Checkpoint Challenge. This mode has the checkpoints get farther and farther away. You need to hit each block on the way forward. The environment is bland and for an endurance mode it’s not very interesting.
Steppy Sprint is the last mode. How fast can you step 100 meters? Hitting every block speeds you up, but messing up resets your speed. As long as you keep going you hit the checkpoint, even if you mess up every step. Alright not really, but you restart where you last successfully stepped with the timer still going so you’ve got forever to get it right.
All of these modes have scoring systems and leader boards, but the progression system is all cosmetic. Every 100 coins you collect let’s your character be randomly flung onto some cosmetic item be it a head, torso, or legs. You can buy these pieces for a dollar a piece, but since it’s all cosmetic there is no real push. Badges cost more coins and some are rewarded for certain achievements, but you cannot spend real money to get them. Some costumes are only available for purchase with real money though, but the prices are fair.
Now this game has one other monetization strategy: ads. In between rounds you can play an ad to get coins or play an ad to restart a walk where you fell down with the next couple of blocks cleared out for you, though these options will show up randomly so they can’t be relied on. I actually really like this system. You can buy a $3 suit to stop all ads, but I’ve never had an issue with them so I’ve never been compelled to buy it.
