The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've faced some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments led me to set down my controller for several minutes while I thought through my options. I am the cause of numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in the conventional way. You must navigate a sprawling open world as Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all comes from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate nears the end his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail named The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection 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 path is likely laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth suffering just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished another time by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a authentic instance of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as competent as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the staircase too. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide completely down if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call