The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've faced some challenging choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my choices. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments measure up to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You only need to explore a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all arises from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s key situation of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Does it merit striving just to prove a point?

The stairs, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. 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 might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Is the staircase yet another trap? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path leads to a genuine moment of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase too. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip to the bottom if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

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