The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've faced some hard decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I considered my options. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it concerns a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in the conventional way. You only need to walk around a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. As he progresses, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the truth that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth suffering just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you find a gift horse. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a setback instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive at the peak 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 an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a genuine moment of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Choice

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call