The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've faced some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to pause the game for several minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am accountable for so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments compare to what possibly is the hardest choice I’ve had to make in gaming — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You only need to explore a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s key situation of decision. As Nate nears the end his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route named The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “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 agonizing choice in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a time where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit struggling just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you see a simple solution. The game world contains design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options leads to a genuine moment of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the staircase either. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide completely down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call