The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Faced in a Game

I've encountered some challenging choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me pause the game for several minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what could be the toughest selection I've faced in gaming — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as years spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, 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 frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to let him know 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 named The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps instead and arrive at the peak in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a time where he can prove that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt each time you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs too. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip to the bottom if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call