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

I've faced some difficult decisions in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section made me put my controller down for around ten minutes while I considered my options. I am responsible for so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You must walk around a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears 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 dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Attempting The Obstacle could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth suffering just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a difficulty on a dime. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than struggling 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 embarrassment in the staircase as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call