Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've encountered some challenging decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to put my controller down for several minutes while I thought through my choices. I am responsible for countless Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. None of those moments hold a candle to what possibly is the hardest choice I've faced in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. At least not in the conventional way. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality 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 begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. During his adventure, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s key situation of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the truth that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Taking on The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth suffering just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that change a secure way into a obstacle instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path results in a real situation of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as competent as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no hidden trick in store 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 all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

Personal Reflection

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