Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Choices I Have Ever Faced in a Game

I've dealt with some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I weighed my options. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. At least not in any traditional sense. You must walk around a sprawling open world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds 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) shows up to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game provides; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs in its place and get to the top in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Taking on The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it worth striving just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they decline guidance, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid each time you see a simple solution. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a setback instantly. Could the steps one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one results in a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase as well. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, of course, selected The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

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