The Game Baby Steps Features One of the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've faced some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to pause the game for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations compare to what now might be the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in the conventional way. You must explore a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. 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 no moment that showcases that quality like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can show that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion whenever you find a gift horse. The environment includes design traps that turn a safe route into a setback suddenly. Could the steps an additional deception? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be fooled by an ending prank? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one results in a real situation of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as able as others, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call