The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what could be the hardest choice I've faced in a video game — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You must navigate a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route named The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps in its place and reach the summit in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the fact that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely filled with more humiliating failures. Does it merit suffering just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty on a dime. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a real situation of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route 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 requires.

But there’s no shame in the stairs either. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip completely down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Choice

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call