The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've encountered some difficult choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments led me to put my controller down for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what could be the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You only need to navigate a vast game world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all comes from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers 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 take support.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps instead and get to the top in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the reality that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion each time you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be fooled by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as capable as others, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

During my game, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call