Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Faced in a Game

I've encountered some difficult choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the hardest choice I've faced in interactive media — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that walking through it is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all arises from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. As he progresses, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called 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 merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth suffering just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in if they turn away a map, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a difficulty instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be let down by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, naturally, selected The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call