The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Faced in a Game

I've faced some hard choices in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations compare to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in the conventional way. You must explore a sprawling open world as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail named The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is centered around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Attempting The Obstacle could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit striving just to demonstrate something?

The steps, 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 reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a setback instantly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be let down by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a authentic instance of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

My Experience

When I played, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call