The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Gaming

I've faced some hard choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. None of those moments measure up to what possibly is the hardest choice I’ve had to make in a video game — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You only need to explore a expansive environment as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all arises from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to help him out. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he finds that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route dubbed The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit suffering just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about causing suspicion anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one results in a genuine moment of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs either. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip completely down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Experience

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