The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my choices. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what now might be the toughest selection I've faced in gaming — and it involves a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You must walk around a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all arises from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of choice. As Nate nears the end his journey, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The single stipulation? 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 painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can prove that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to prove a point?

The steps, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in if they reject navigation help, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a setback instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a real situation of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase either. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call