The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've faced some hard choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I've faced in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You only need to explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to assist him. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path named The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase instead and get to the top in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can show that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit suffering just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion whenever you find a gift horse. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a obstacle instantly. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options results in a authentic instance of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as anyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he trips. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

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