The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've faced some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I considered my choices. I am accountable for so many Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I've faced in interactive media — and it involves a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, is not really a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You only need to explore a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in 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 key selection that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he finds that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route named The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth struggling just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes planned obstacles that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options leads to a authentic instance of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as competent as others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, selected The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

Personal Reflection

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