The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in a Game

I've encountered some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what now might be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he finds that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs in its place and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is revolves around 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. Undertaking The Challenge could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in if they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid each time you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished another time by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path results in a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as competent as everyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. 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 freak?

My Choice

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