Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in a Game

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for countless Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I've faced in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to assist him. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs in its place and reach the summit in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Taking on 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 paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be fooled by a final joke? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished another time by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a genuine moment of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as competent as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, 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 does not fall to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, opted for The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call