Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've encountered some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am accountable for so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the toughest selection I've faced in interactive media — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. At least not in any traditional sense. You only need to explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two paths upward. 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 provides; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision 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. An element of Nate's story is focused on the reality that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified struggling just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Could the steps yet another trap? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options results in a genuine moment of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as others, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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