The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me pause the game for around ten minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I've ever made in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all comes from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to others. During his adventure, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and reach the summit in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified striving just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one leads to a genuine moment of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, of course, selected The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Experience

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