The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've encountered some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to pause the game for several minutes while I considered my choices. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. None of those moments hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I've ever made in interactive media — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

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 coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth suffering just to prove a point?

The steps, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion each time you see a simple solution. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a obstacle suddenly. Could the steps yet another trap? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be let down 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 correct or incorrect choice. Both options brings about a real situation of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as competent as everyone else, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs as well. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback awaiting 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 stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Experience

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