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

I've faced some difficult decisions in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I considered my options. I am responsible for so many Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I've ever made in interactive media — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to others. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and risky path dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a instance where he can show that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified striving just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in if they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid each time you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a setback on a dime. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path leads to a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs too. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall 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, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call