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

I've faced some difficult choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section made me put my controller down for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am accountable for so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in a video game — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs instead and reach the summit in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be paved with more humiliating failures. Does it merit striving just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can decide to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs one more trick? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path brings about a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps as well. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no real catch in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall completely down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call