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

I've faced some challenging choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am responsible for so many Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments hold a candle to what possibly is the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. At least not in any traditional sense. You must explore a vast game world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative 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

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the fact that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid anytime you see a simple solution. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a setback instantly. Could the steps one more trick? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than struggling 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 needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs either. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, of course, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call