Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've encountered some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game provides; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that change a secure way into a setback on a dime. Is the staircase one more trick? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be let down by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. 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 others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs too. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Experience

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