Baby Steps Features One of the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some challenging decisions in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations compare to what could be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in the conventional way. You must walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all stems from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to assist him. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous 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 nears the end his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth suffering just to prove a point?

The steps, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a setback instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one leads to a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as capable as anyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the stairs as well. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip completely down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, naturally, selected The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

During my game, I selected the steps. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call