Baby Steps Features One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've faced some challenging decisions in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me set down my controller for around ten minutes while I considered my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You must navigate a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to others. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path named The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection 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 fact that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment 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 striving just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can decide to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt each time you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a obstacle suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path brings about a real situation of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, of course, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

When I played, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call