The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Faced in a Game

I've dealt with some challenging decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am accountable for so many Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a vast game world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all comes from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail named The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps instead and reach the summit in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the fact that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Taking on The Challenge could be a instance where he can show that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely filled with more humiliating failures. Is it worth suffering just to prove a point?

The steps, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you find a gift horse. The environment includes planned obstacles that change a secure way into a setback suddenly. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one brings about a real situation of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as everyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps too. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Choice

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