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

I've dealt with some difficult choices in gaming. 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 alternatives. I am accountable for so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what now might be the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You only need to walk around a vast game world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all arises from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to others. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to help him out. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and risky path dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest 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 single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the truth that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit struggling just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one leads to a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as anyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps either. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip to the bottom if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

My Choice

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