The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Experienced in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments hold a candle to what could be the toughest selection I've ever made in interactive media — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a vast game world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a key selection that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all stems from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path named The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

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 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. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Does it merit suffering just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that change a secure way into a obstacle on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path results in a genuine moment of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as everyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps either. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Choice

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