Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Faced in Video Games

I've encountered some difficult decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me put my controller down for several minutes while I considered my choices. I am accountable for so many Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You only need to walk around a expansive environment as Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It seems like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that walking through it is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all arises from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called The Manbreaker. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game includes; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest 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 reaching a climax in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the reality that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth striving just to prove a point?

The steps, on the contrary, 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 decide to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It should be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that change a secure way into a setback instantly. Could the steps one more trick? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a authentic instance of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as anyone else, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide completely down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call