Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to put my controller down for several minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You only need to navigate a expansive environment as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a challenge, as years spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to others. As he progresses, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase instead and reach the summit in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Attempting The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit suffering just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in if they decline guidance, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase one more trick? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be fooled by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps either. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall to the bottom if he trips. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, naturally, opted for The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

When I played, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call