The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've dealt with some challenging choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am responsible for so many Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments hold a candle to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've faced in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. At least not in typical gaming terms. You must walk around a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. During his adventure, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a instance where he can show that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can decide to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that change a secure way into a setback suddenly. Are the stairs yet another trap? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be let down by a final joke? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options brings about a real situation of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as everyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall completely down if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, naturally, selected The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call