Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Experienced in a Game

I've faced some challenging choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. None of those moments hold a candle to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as years spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to others. During his adventure, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. 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 handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt each time you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that change a secure way into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase yet another trap? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers 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 trips. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Choice

During my game, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call