Baby Steps Features One of the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've encountered some difficult decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my choices. I am accountable for numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in a video game — and it involves a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. 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 you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he finds that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the fact that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Attempting The Challenge could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Does it merit struggling just to make a statement?

The steps, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a difficulty instantly. Could the steps one more trick? Will Nate get at the peak just to be let down by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one leads to a real situation of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps too. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, of course, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Choice

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