The Game Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Choices I Have Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've faced some hard decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You must explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide 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 offered 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 annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he realizes that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail named The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps includes; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

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

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid whenever you find a gift horse. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a obstacle on a dime. Could the steps one more trick? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as able as anyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

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