Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've faced some challenging decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my options. I am accountable for numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what possibly is the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You only need to navigate a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the truth that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a instance where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified struggling just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in about they decline guidance, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase one more trick? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as able as anyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps too. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up 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 conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, selected The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

Personal Reflection

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