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

I've dealt with some difficult choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me pause the game for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am responsible for so many Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the hardest choice I've faced in a video game — and it involves a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. 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 ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in if they turn away a map, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt each time you find a gift horse. The game world contains design traps that change a secure way into a setback on a dime. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a real situation of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the stairs too. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. 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 hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, naturally, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Choice

During my game, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call