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

I've dealt with some challenging choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances compare to what now might be the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You must walk around a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a struggle, as years spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all arises from players controlling 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. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate nears the end his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game provides; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

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 one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the fact that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a instance where he can show that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they turn away a map, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion each time you find a gift horse. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as competent as everyone else, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase either. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call