Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in a Game

I've faced some challenging choices in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my choices. I am responsible for numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You must explore a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail named The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. The only caveat? 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 painful decision in this situation. 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 centered around the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it worth suffering just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in if they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a authentic instance of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps as well. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide completely down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, naturally, opted for The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

When I played, I selected the steps. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call