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

I've faced some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments led me to put my controller down for around ten minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments hold a candle to what possibly is the hardest choice I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to navigate a vast game world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all arises from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to others. As he progresses, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can prove that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit struggling just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion each time you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with planned obstacles that change a secure way into a obstacle suddenly. Is the staircase one more trick? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by a final joke? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as capable as anyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs too. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide completely down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call