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

I've encountered some challenging decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my choices. I am the cause of 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 toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in the conventional way. You must explore a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate nears the end his journey, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps instead and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “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 painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt each time you find a gift horse. The game world contains planned obstacles that change a secure way into a obstacle suddenly. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one results in a authentic instance 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 moment to show that he’s as capable as others, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the stairs as well. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call