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

I've dealt with some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I've ever made in a video game — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all arises from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. During his adventure, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate nears the end his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs in its place and reach the summit in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest 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 culminating in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Taking on The Challenge could be a time where he can prove that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified striving just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they decline guidance, but they can decide to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion whenever you encounter an easy option. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a setback suddenly. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs either. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip completely down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

During my game, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call