The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've encountered some hard choices in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence led me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what could be the most difficult decision I've ever made in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You must walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all comes from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps in its place and get to the top in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the reality that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it worth striving just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a setback suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one leads to a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains 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 option except to pursue. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call