Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Encountered in a Game

I've dealt with some hard decisions in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to put my controller down for around ten minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances compare to what could be the toughest selection I've faced in gaming — and it involves a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You only need to navigate a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to assist him. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and get to the top in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

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 centered around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a time where he can prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can opt to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options results in a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as able as others, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the steps as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, 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. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, of course, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Choice

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