Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've faced some challenging choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section made me pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in a video game — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You must walk around a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian 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 choose a very lengthy and risky path called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game provides; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs in its place and get to the top in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it worth striving just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Could the steps one more trick? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a real situation of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as others, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase either. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall all the way down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

During my game, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call