The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Significant Choices I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've dealt with some challenging decisions in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence prompted me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my options. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You must walk around a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a difficulty, as years spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, 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 assist him. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail called The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the reality that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth struggling just to prove a point?

The steps, 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 decline guidance, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The environment includes planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a setback instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options leads to a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps as well. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he trips. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

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