Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've faced some hard choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to put my controller down for around ten minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am the cause of so many Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the hardest choice I've ever made in a video game — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You only need to walk around a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs in its place 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 takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Taking on The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you find a gift horse. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a setback instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be let down by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as anyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps either. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, naturally, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call