The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've faced some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I considered my choices. I am the cause of so many Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments hold a candle to what now might be the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it concerns a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You must walk around a vast game world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a challenge, as years spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” 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 culminating in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Does it merit struggling just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you encounter an easy option. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a setback suddenly. Could the steps yet another trap? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path brings about a genuine moment of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip to the bottom if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, of course, chosen to take The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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