The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've faced some difficult decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to put my controller down for around ten minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You only need to navigate a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that walking through it is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to help him out. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game provides; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb 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 “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest 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 centered around the fact that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified struggling just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt anytime you see a simple solution. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a setback suddenly. Is the staircase one more trick? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path brings about a genuine moment of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as everyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs too. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

Personal Reflection

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