The Game Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've encountered some hard decisions in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I considered my choices. I am accountable for numerous Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what could be the hardest choice I've faced in a video game — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to help him out. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail named The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and reach the summit in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Undertaking The Challenge could be a instance where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth suffering just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you see a simple solution. The environment includes design traps that transform an easy path into a setback on a dime. Could the steps one more trick? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by a final joke? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path leads to a authentic instance of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as anyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the stairs as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no real catch in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall to the bottom if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call