The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some difficult choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence led me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in interactive media — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit suffering just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase too. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, opted for The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call