The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Experienced in a Game

I've encountered some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am accountable for countless Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all comes from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, 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 let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and reach the summit in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “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 painful decision in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is focused on the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time 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 show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth struggling just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with planned obstacles that change a secure way into a setback instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options results in a genuine moment of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as able as others, voluntarily accepting a tough path 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 disgrace in the staircase as well. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip completely down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Choice

During my game, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call