Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've dealt with some challenging choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to pause the game for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am the cause of countless Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it involves a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You only need to navigate a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie 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 deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all arises from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs instead and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection 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 centered around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth struggling just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a authentic instance of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as able as anyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the stairs as well. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick 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 doesn’t slide completely down if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. 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 meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

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