Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Faced in a Game

I've faced some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me put my controller down for several minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations compare to what now might be the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it involves a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all arises from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to assist him. A composed outdoorsman 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 can manage alone and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game provides; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in a few minutes. 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 very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can show that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified suffering just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a setback on a dime. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options results in a authentic instance of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as able as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase either. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call