Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Experienced in a Game

I've faced some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments measure up to what possibly is the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely 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 hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a difficulty, as years spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all comes from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. 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 routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game provides; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and get to the top in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the reality that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit striving just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you find a gift horse. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished once again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path brings about a real situation of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as others, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs too. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call