Baby Steps Features Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what could be the toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in the conventional way. You must navigate a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all arises from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game includes; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Taking on The Challenge could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely filled with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a setback on a dime. Are the stairs one more trick? Will Nate get at the peak just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one results in a real situation of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip all the way down if he trips. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call