The Game Baby Steps Features One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've faced some challenging decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations compare to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in gaming — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all arises from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he realizes that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can show that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It ought to be 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 change a secure way into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated yet 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 leads to a real situation of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as everyone else, willingly taking on a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the stairs either. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, of course, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

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