Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've encountered some hard choices in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all arises from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game provides; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and get to the top in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment where he can show that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth struggling just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the other hand, 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 choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be let down by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a genuine moment of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, selected The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Choice

During my game, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call