The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've faced some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've faced in gaming — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely not in the conventional way. You only need to walk around a expansive environment as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all arises from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and actually wants 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 take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and get to the top in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a time where he can prove that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment 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 give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt each time you see a simple solution. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a setback instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as able as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps too. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, of course, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

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