Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Faced in a Game

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me put my controller down for around ten minutes while I thought through my choices. I am responsible for numerous Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances measure up to what possibly is the hardest choice I've faced in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. During his adventure, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail named The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend 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 “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified suffering just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in about they turn away a map, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The environment includes planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a setback instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be let down by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path brings about a genuine moment of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase as well. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide completely down if he trips. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Experience

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