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

I've dealt with some hard choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my choices. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You only need to navigate a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a challenge, as years spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to help him out. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of selection. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game provides; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Sir” 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 the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the fact that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid anytime you encounter an easy option. The game world contains design traps that transform an easy path into a setback on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path results in a genuine moment of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as able as anyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting 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. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call