Baby Steps Features One of the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Encountered in a Game

I've dealt with some hard choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my options. I am responsible for numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You must walk around a sprawling open world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps instead and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid anytime you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Is the staircase one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be fooled by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options leads to a genuine moment of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Experience

During my game, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call