Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Video Games

I've encountered some difficult choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am the cause of so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. None of those moments measure up to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it involves a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all arises from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two paths upward. 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 game includes; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one brings about a genuine moment of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as capable as anyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, naturally, opted for The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Choice

When I played, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call