The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've faced some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence prompted me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what could be the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You only need to walk around a expansive environment as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate nears the end his journey, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps includes; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs instead and get to the top in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the truth that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely laden with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit suffering just to make a statement?

The steps, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in if they turn away a map, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a difficulty suddenly. Are the stairs yet another trap? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one brings about a authentic instance of character development and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as capable as anyone else, willingly taking on 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 embarrassment in the stairs either. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, naturally, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Experience

When I played, I selected the steps. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call