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

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me put my controller down for several minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've ever made in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in the conventional way. You only need to explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. During his adventure, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must reach the summit 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 ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and risky path named The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs as an alternative and reach the summit in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the fact that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified striving just to prove a point?

The steps, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished another time by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one leads to a real situation of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as competent as everyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, of course, opted for The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting 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 time to be embarrassed by this freak?

Personal Reflection

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