The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Faced in a Game

I've encountered some hard decisions in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me pause the game for several minutes while I thought through my options. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what possibly is the toughest selection I've ever made in a video game — and it involves a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world 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 game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail named The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs instead and get to the top in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth striving just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path leads to a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as capable as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, of course, selected The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call