The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Experienced in a Game

I've dealt with some difficult choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence led me to set down my controller for several minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what possibly is the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You must explore a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all arises from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase instead and reach the summit in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” 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 this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they decline guidance, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a setback instantly. Are the stairs yet another trap? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one results in a authentic instance of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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