Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Faced in a Game

I've dealt with some hard decisions in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations compare to what could be the hardest choice I've faced in interactive media — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all arises from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he finds that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. 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 ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game provides; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Attempting The Obstacle could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Does it merit suffering just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in about they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion each time you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase one more trick? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the stairs either. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, 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 gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call