The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've encountered some difficult decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a choice-driven game. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You must navigate a expansive environment as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all comes from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to assist him. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his journey, he finds that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail named The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs in its place and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a setback on a dime. Could the steps one more trick? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by an ending prank? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a authentic instance of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route 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 craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps either. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, 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. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call