The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Significant Choices I Have Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've faced some hard choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations compare to what possibly is the toughest selection I've faced in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in the conventional way. You must explore a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all stems from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to others. 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 clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is focused on the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Challenge could be a instance 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 struggling just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase one more trick? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by a final joke? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one leads to a real situation of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the stairs too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. 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 hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, of course, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, 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, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call