Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've encountered some challenging choices in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments led me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am responsible for countless Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a struggle, as years spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and get to the top in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit struggling just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt whenever you find a gift horse. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a difficulty suddenly. Are the stairs one more trick? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be fooled by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path results in a real situation of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the staircase either. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call