The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances measure up to what could be the toughest selection I've faced in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in the conventional way. You only need to navigate a vast game world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, 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 awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his journey, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps instead and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

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 particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the reality that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Taking on The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it worth suffering just to make a statement?

The steps, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in if they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a obstacle on a dime. Could the steps yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by a final joke? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options results in a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as others, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase too. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

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