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

I've faced some hard choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am the cause of so many Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a struggle, as years spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. As he progresses, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth suffering just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion anytime you find a gift horse. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Could the steps yet another trap? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be fooled by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path results in a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as others, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback awaiting 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 stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

During my game, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call