The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've faced some hard decisions in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. None of those moments measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative 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 I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all comes from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck 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 risky path called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps instead and reach the summit in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it worth suffering just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion each time you see a simple solution. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty suddenly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path results in a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps as well. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip to the bottom if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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