Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Faced in Video Games

I've faced some challenging decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence prompted me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am responsible for numerous Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what could be the toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it involves a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You only need to explore a expansive environment as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all comes from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path named The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs instead and get to the top in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the fact that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Taking on The Obstacle could be a moment where he can show that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase an additional deception? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path results in a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the staircase either. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, selected The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Experience

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