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

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me pause the game for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. None of those moments hold a candle to what could be the toughest selection 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, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You only need to navigate a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all comes from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers 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 too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he realizes that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail named The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest 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 single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Undertaking The Challenge could be a instance where he can show that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth striving just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path results in a genuine moment of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps either. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, 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 trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Choice

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