Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard decisions in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me set down my controller for around ten minutes while I thought through my options. I am responsible for so many Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances compare to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You must walk around a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all arises from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of choice. As Nate nears the end his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps includes; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. 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 absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection 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 revolves around the fact that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth striving just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in if they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one results in a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets 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 choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, of course, selected The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

My Experience

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