The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I considered my choices. I am responsible for numerous Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations compare to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You only need to explore a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes 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 single genuine instance of choice. As Nate nears the end his journey, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and get to the top in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “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 agonizing choice in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the truth that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes design traps that transform an easy path into a obstacle on a dime. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options results in a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as able as everyone else, willingly taking on a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs as well. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, naturally, opted for The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

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