Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've dealt with some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments led me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my options. I am accountable for so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations compare to what now might be the toughest selection I've faced in interactive media — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely not in the conventional way. You only need to explore a expansive environment as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all arises from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with 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 uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; choosing it looks risky 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 a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Taking on The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified suffering just to make a statement?

The steps, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can decide to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you find a gift horse. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase one more trick? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options leads to a real situation of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback in store 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 all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, selected The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call