Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Faced in a Game

I've encountered some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section made me put my controller down for several minutes while I weighed my options. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what now might be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You only need to walk around a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. 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 Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate nears the end his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps instead and arrive at the peak in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit suffering just to prove a point?

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 if they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Are the stairs yet another trap? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path brings about a real situation of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the stairs too. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall all the way down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call