Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've faced some difficult choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. None of those moments measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in gaming — and it involves a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in typical gaming terms. You only need to navigate a vast game world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a struggle, as years spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all arises from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified struggling just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that change a secure way into a setback on a dime. Is the staircase an additional deception? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options brings about a genuine moment of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as able as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase either. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting 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 nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call