The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've dealt with some difficult choices in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section made me set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am responsible for so many Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what now might be the hardest choice I've ever made in a video game — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You only need to explore a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a challenge, as years spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. 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 ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Challenge could be a instance where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified struggling just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in if they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid whenever you encounter an easy option. The game world contains planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase one more trick? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be let down by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one leads to a genuine moment of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs as well. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip to the bottom if he falls. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

Personal Reflection

During my game, I selected the steps. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call