The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Faced in a Game

I've dealt with some challenging decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I considered my choices. I am the cause of numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what now might be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all arises from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail named The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps includes; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a time where he can prove that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified suffering just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you encounter an easy option. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a difficulty suddenly. Are the stairs yet another trap? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a genuine moment of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as competent as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Experience

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call