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

I've encountered some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am responsible for so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations compare to what could be the most difficult decision I've ever made in gaming — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he finds that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and risky path named The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs as an alternative and arrive at the peak in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth suffering just to prove a point?

The steps, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt each time you encounter an easy option. The environment includes planned obstacles that change a secure way into a setback instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be let down by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one results in a authentic instance of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as competent as anyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps too. To select that route is to at last permit 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 go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

During my game, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call