The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Faced in a Game

I've encountered some challenging decisions in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me pause the game for around ten minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've faced in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in typical gaming terms. You only need to navigate a expansive environment as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that walking through it is a challenge, as years spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. As he progresses, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his journey, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. 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 ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the reality that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth striving just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you see a simple solution. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be let down by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs as well. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call