The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Video Games

I've faced some difficult choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I've faced in gaming — and it involves a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a sprawling open world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a challenge, as years spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all comes from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he discovers that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The default guardian 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 prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route named The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt anytime you see a simple solution. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs yet another trap? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be fooled by a final joke? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path leads to a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as competent as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the steps either. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, opted for The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Choice

During my game, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call