The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've dealt with some challenging choices in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to set down my controller for several minutes while I thought through my options. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations compare to what now might be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You must walk around a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that walking through it is a difficulty, as years spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing 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 tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and reach the summit in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Attempting The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit struggling just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in if they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes planned obstacles that change a secure way into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be fooled by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one results in a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

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