The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section made me put my controller down for several minutes while I thought through my choices. I am the cause of numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances measure up to what now might be the toughest selection I've ever made in a video game — and it involves a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all arises from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and reach the summit in a short time. 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 completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the fact that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth striving just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they reject navigation help, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one leads to a real situation of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs either. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Experience

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call