Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've faced some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section made me pause the game for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am responsible for countless Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances measure up to what could be the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all arises from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. 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 truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he discovers that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps in its place and get to the top in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get at the peak just to be let down by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one leads to a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a moment to show 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 hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs either. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall all the way down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

Personal Reflection

During my game, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call