Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Gaming

I've dealt with some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my choices. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I've faced in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You only need to explore a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all arises from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps includes; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs in its place and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. 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 insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a time where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a obstacle on a dime. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as able as others, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide completely down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, of course, selected The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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