Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Choices I Have Ever Encountered in a Game

I've dealt with some hard choices in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am accountable for numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what possibly is the hardest choice I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You only need to explore a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to assist him. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds 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) comes to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route named The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth struggling just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The game world contains planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a setback on a dime. Is the staircase an additional deception? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be let down by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options brings about a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call