Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've encountered some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a vast game world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all comes from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate nears the end his journey, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game includes; choosing it looks risky to any human.

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

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Taking on The Obstacle could be a time where he can show that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely filled with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a setback suddenly. Could the steps one more trick? Will Nate get at the peak just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a real situation of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as others, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Choice

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