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

I've encountered some challenging choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my options. I am the cause of numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route named The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase instead and get to the top in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Taking on The Obstacle could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be paved with more humiliating failures. Does it merit struggling just to prove a point?

The steps, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a obstacle instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be let down by a final joke? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished another time by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one results in a genuine moment of character development and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as capable as others, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

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