The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've encountered some challenging choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section led me to put my controller down for several minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what could be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in gaming — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You simply have to explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all comes from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him 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 called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs in its place and reach the summit in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the reality that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth struggling just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they reject navigation help, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion whenever you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path brings about a authentic instance of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the staircase either. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, opted for The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Experience

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