The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my choices. I am responsible for so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. None of those moments hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I've faced in a video game — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You only need to walk around a sprawling open world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as years spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all stems from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, 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 requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the fact that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it worth striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a setback suddenly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be fooled by a final joke? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options results in a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase either. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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