Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've encountered some difficult decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am the cause of countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what could be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in gaming — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. At least not in the conventional way. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as Nate, a adult in a onesie 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 unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a challenge, as years spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all comes from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail named The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps instead and reach the summit in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified suffering just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by a final joke? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide completely down if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call