The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Video Games

I've faced some difficult decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the toughest selection I've ever made in interactive media — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in the conventional way. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to assist him. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and reach the summit in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

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. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified struggling just to make a statement?

The steps, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in if they reject navigation help, but they can choose to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion anytime you encounter an easy option. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a obstacle suddenly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options brings about a real situation of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call