Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Experienced in a Game

I've faced some hard choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to put my controller down for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances measure up to what possibly is the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it involves a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and risky path named The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase instead and get to the top in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth suffering just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Could the steps one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as competent as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call