Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Experienced in a Game

I've faced some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what possibly is the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely not in the conventional way. You must navigate a expansive environment as the main character 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 strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate nears the end his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game provides; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to prove a point?

The steps, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be fooled by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one leads to a genuine moment of character development and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, naturally, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call