The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to put my controller down for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for so many Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. None of those moments compare to what now might be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it concerns a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You must walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. 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 it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to assist him. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios 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 key situation of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is centered around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Taking on The Challenge could be a instance where he can show that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Does it merit suffering just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt each time you see a simple solution. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be let down by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as anyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip completely down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Experience

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