Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Experienced in a Game

I've encountered some hard choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments led me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in the conventional way. You must explore a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like a key selection that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all arises from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps instead and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Challenge could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified struggling just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in if they turn away a map, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a obstacle instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one brings about a real situation of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the stairs either. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, of course, selected The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Choice

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