The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my choices. I am responsible for so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what possibly is the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in the conventional way. You must walk around a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he finds that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and reach the summit in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a moment where he can show that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely filled with more humiliating failures. Does it merit struggling just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in if they turn away a map, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one results in a genuine moment of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call