The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in a Game

I've encountered some challenging choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my choices. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances measure up to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in gaming — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all arises from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he discovers 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) appears to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and reach the summit in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the reality that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Attempting The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth suffering just to make a statement?

The steps, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion anytime you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a difficulty suddenly. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be let down 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 brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one leads to a genuine moment of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as capable as anyone else, consciously choosing a tough path 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 requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps either. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, of course, selected The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, 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 nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Choice

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