Baby Steps Features One of the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've faced some hard choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I considered my choices. I am responsible for so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I've faced in a video game — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You only need to explore a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that walking through it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. 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 fact that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth striving just to prove a point?

The steps, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can choose to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a setback instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one leads to a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall completely down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call