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

I've dealt with some challenging decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me put my controller down for several minutes while I weighed my choices. I am responsible for so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the toughest selection I've faced in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely not in the conventional way. You must walk around a vast game world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is required here. 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 sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all stems from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. As he progresses, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. 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 physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Taking on The Obstacle could be a time where he can prove that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth suffering just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion anytime you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path results in a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps too. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, of course, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

During my game, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call