Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've encountered some difficult choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. None of those moments measure up to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in the conventional way. You must explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that walking through it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all comes from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to assist him. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he finds that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route named The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps instead and reach the summit in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth struggling just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they reject navigation help, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs either. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall all the way down if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

Personal Reflection

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