Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard choices in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I've faced in a video game — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. 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 exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and risky path named The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Taking on The Challenge could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified struggling just to demonstrate something?

The steps, 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 decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that change a secure way into a obstacle on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one brings about a real situation of character development and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs as well. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall completely down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

Personal Reflection

During my game, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call