The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've encountered some hard decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I've ever made in a video game — and it involves a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from 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 I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all comes from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps in its place and reach the summit in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a obstacle instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options results in a real situation of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, 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 alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase too. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no real catch in store for 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 simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Choice

When I played, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call