The Game Baby Steps Features Among the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've dealt with some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the hardest choice I've ever made in interactive media — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a choice-driven game. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to navigate a vast game world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. 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 unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Taking on The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be laden with more humiliating failures. Does it merit struggling just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a obstacle instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be let down by a final joke? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path brings about a authentic instance of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as everyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps as well. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall all the way down if he trips. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

My Choice

During my game, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call