Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Experienced in a Game

I've dealt with some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section led me to pause the game for several minutes while I considered my choices. I am responsible for so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that walking through it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to others. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants 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 Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian 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 opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail named The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs in its place and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is centered around the fact that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Each instance 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 demonstrate that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit suffering just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in if they reject navigation help, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid anytime you see a simple solution. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path leads to a genuine moment of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as able as anyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the stairs either. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Choice

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call