Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've faced some challenging choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments led me to put my controller down for several minutes while I weighed my options. I am accountable for so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in 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 pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all comes from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs in its place and get to the top in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a time where he can prove that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit suffering just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Is the staircase one more trick? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by a final joke? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall all the way down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, of course, selected The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

Personal Reflection

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