Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've encountered some difficult choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence led me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my choices. I am the cause of so many Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances compare to what could be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You only need to explore a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky 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 single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is focused on the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more humiliating failures. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in if they reject navigation help, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The environment includes design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options brings about a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps either. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick 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 trips. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

During my game, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call