Baby Steps Features Among the Most Significant Choices I Have Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've encountered some challenging decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me put my controller down for several minutes while I thought through my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a selection-based adventure. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a challenge, as years spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he realizes that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path named The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. 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 fact that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit striving just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in if they decline guidance, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains design traps that change a secure way into a obstacle on a dime. Could the steps one more trick? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by a final joke? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a real situation of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as capable as others, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, selected The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Experience

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