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

I've dealt with some hard choices in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me put my controller down for several minutes while I considered my options. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what could be the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You only need to navigate a expansive environment as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to others. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to assist him. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game includes; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. 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 revolves around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Attempting The Challenge could be a time where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Does it merit struggling just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that turn a safe route into a setback on a dime. Is the staircase one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be fooled by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a genuine moment of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting 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 stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

During my game, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call