Baby Steps Features Among the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've faced some hard choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to put my controller down for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in interactive media — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps includes; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs instead and arrive at the peak in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

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 centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to prove a point?

The steps, on the flip side, 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 choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one brings about a real situation of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as competent as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the stairs too. To select that route is to at last permit 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 go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip completely down if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, selected The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Choice

When I played, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call