Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Gaming

I've faced some challenging decisions in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me put my controller down for around ten minutes while I weighed my options. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You only need to navigate a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route named The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs instead and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that turn a safe route into a setback suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be let down by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one results in a genuine moment of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as competent as anyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, chosen to take 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 reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Experience

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