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

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to put my controller down for around ten minutes while I considered my options. I am responsible for so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations compare to what could be the toughest selection I've faced in a video game — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You must explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It appears to be 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 showcases that quality like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he finds that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

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 particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the truth that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Taking on The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt 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 anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs yet another trap? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be let down by a final joke? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options results in a authentic instance of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as everyone else, willingly taking on a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call