Baby Steps Features One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've dealt with some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments led me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my choices. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You simply have to explore a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs instead and reach the summit in just moments. 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 absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth striving just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a setback suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be let down by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options results in a genuine moment of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as capable as others, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs too. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip to the bottom if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call