The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Encountered in a Game

I've encountered some difficult choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am accountable for countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a struggle, as years spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s one true moment of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail named The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps instead and reach the summit in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” 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 all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be let down by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one leads to a real situation of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as capable as anyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call