The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've faced some challenging decisions in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section led me to put my controller down for several minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. None of those moments hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You must navigate a vast game world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest 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 culminating in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is focused on the reality that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Challenge could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified struggling just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a setback instantly. Could the steps one more trick? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be fooled by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a real situation of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps either. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip completely down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, of course, chosen to take The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call