The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence led me to set down my controller for several minutes while I thought through my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the hardest choice I've faced in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. At least not in the conventional way. You must navigate a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of choice. As Nate nears the end his journey, he realizes that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” 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 the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Undertaking The Challenge could be a instance where he can show that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in about they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you see a simple solution. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as able as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To opt for that way is to at last permit 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 extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip completely down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, selected The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Choice

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