Stairs have always been a problem for videogames. Most games just design a stair set and then place an invisible ramp up the stairs or steps so that a player character appears to be going up the stairs, but upon closer inspection it is clear to see that you are hovering above the stairs.
Some games opt for a preset, closed animation for stairs (GTA IV) where a character will go into a locked animation for climbing or going down stairs. These animations usually end up feeling out of place as they take a bit of control away from the player.
Few games actually get stairs right and have a characters feet able to hit each (or every other in some cases) step correctly without having to place invisible ramps or preset animations.
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