Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've 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 concluding moments made me put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my choices. I am the cause of countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all stems from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to assist him. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of selection. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up 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 Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one brings about a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps either. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, of course, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, 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 opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call