Baby Steps Features Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've encountered some difficult decisions in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am responsible for so many Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. At least not in the conventional way. You only need to explore a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all arises from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. 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 genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the truth that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Does it merit struggling just to prove a point?

The steps, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt each time you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that change a secure way into a setback instantly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as capable as anyone else, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps as well. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Experience

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