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

I've dealt with some difficult choices in video games. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of countless Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances measure up to what could be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a selection-based adventure. At least not in any traditional sense. You must explore a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate nears the end his journey, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is focused on the reality that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified suffering just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be disappointed by a final joke? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a real situation of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring 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 embarrassment in the steps too. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Experience

During my game, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call