Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Experienced in a Game

I've dealt with some difficult choices in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section made me pause the game for several minutes while I considered my choices. I am the cause of so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You only need to explore a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all arises from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to assist him. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs instead and reach the summit in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the truth that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Challenge could be a instance where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth struggling just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps one more trick? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top 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 a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as everyone else, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the staircase either. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip completely down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, opted for The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Choice

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call