Baby Steps Features Among the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've faced some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am accountable for numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've faced in interactive media — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You only need to navigate a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all comes from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. During his adventure, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and risky path dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit struggling just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs one more trick? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path leads to a genuine moment of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb 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 chat with the hiker who has, naturally, opted for The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

Personal Reflection

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