Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've faced some hard choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my choices. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I've faced in gaming — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. At least not in the conventional way. You must walk around a vast game world as the main character 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 power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as years spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all arises from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. 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 actually wants to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs instead and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is focused on the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Attempting The Challenge could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Does it merit striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion whenever you find a gift horse. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a obstacle suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be fooled by a final joke? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. 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 simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call