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

I've encountered some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me put my controller down for several minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances compare to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the protagonist 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 surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all comes from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The environment includes planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path results in a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as able as others, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs either. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Choice

During my game, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call