The Game Baby Steps Features One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am responsible for so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what could be the hardest choice I've faced in interactive media — and it involves a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and reach the summit in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

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 one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Taking on The Obstacle could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid whenever you see a simple solution. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Could the steps yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one leads to a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase too. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call