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

I've faced some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments hold a candle to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You must navigate a vast game world 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 game’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all arises from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to help him out. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route named The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase instead 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 chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Taking on The Challenge could be a time where he can prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to prove a point?

The steps, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in if they turn away a map, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs yet another trap? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished another time by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one leads to a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as capable as anyone else, willingly taking on a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call